Excitement is building for celebrations in Darlington as the S&DR200 festival counts down to the 200th anniversary of the world’s first passenger rail journey.
The inaugural journey of Locomotion No. 1 on the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) represented a major turning point in history and preparations are well underway to celebrate the historic first journey which took place on 27th September 1825.
On Saturday 20th September, prepare to be amazed as ‘Ghost Train: The Departures’ arrives in Darlington town centre with free, interactive performances and a spectacular evening parade to Hopetown.
Commissioned by S&DR200, created and produced by Avanti Display Ltd and Walk the Plank, ‘Ghost Train: The Departures’ will begin with a theatrical re-imagining of Locomotion No. 1, with moving cogs and wheels, installed on a large plinth in the Market Square. Throughout the afternoon six large-scale structures, each mounted on customized cars, will bring to life, through performance, music, sound and feats of engineering, some of the most significant inventions of the last 200 years.
Once the parade arrives at Hopetown, there will be a host of free, Night at the Museum activities for all the family. Hopetown will stay open late, with another chance to see the amazing artistic carriages up close. Visitors will also be able to enjoy the Titans of Steam exhibition which runs from Saturday 20th September until Sunday 5th October. The exhibition sees six amazing steam engines standing side by side the 78018 BR Standard Class 2, the 62005 LNER K1, the freight-hauling 63395 LNER Q6, the 65894 LNER J27, the 63395 LNER Q6, the 60163 Tornado and the 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley.
On Sunday 28th September, ‘Ghost Train: The Arrival’ will move to Stockton-on-Tees on with an epic outdoor performance at the Riverside.
The anniversary celebrations continue in Darlington on Saturday 27th September, when there will be the chance to watch a re-enactment of the first journey on the S&DR as a newly restored replica of Locomotion No. 1 travels along part of the route of the original journey in 1825. The journey across Skerne Bridge will be transmitted live to a big screen in Darlington Market Square, where there will be a host of free entertainment and activities.