Building Bridges

Join hosts Caroline Hardie and Archie MacKay in the fourth episode of Tales from the Rails as they delve into the history of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, celebrating its upcoming 200th anniversary in 2025.

This episode focuses on the crucial role of railway bridges, spotlighting the Gaunless Bridge and the Skerne Bridge, their design, construction, and significance.

Discover the fascinating stories behind these engineering feats and learn about the pioneering people like Ralph Day who contributed to the railway's success.

Special guest Anthony Coulls, Senior Curator of Rail Transport and Technology at the National Railway Museum at Locomotion, shares insights on the recent relocation and restoration of the Gaunless Bridge ironwork which is now sited outside the newly opened New Hall.

Find out about upcoming events and the ongoing efforts to preserve and celebrate this monumental piece of railway history. Whether you're a railway enthusiast or just curious about the past, this episode offers a captivating glimpse into the world of early railway engineering.

Thank you once more to Dave Reynolds for composing our theme tune. Thanks also to Darlington based actor, Lee Morris, who features as Ignatius Bonomi and to Alfie Nixon, who took the role of John Carter.

Links

Links in this Episode: 

Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway

Donate to the Save Heighington Station campaign

S&DR Events Calendar

S&DR Community Fund

Buy at the S&DR Shop

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Music.

(00:20):
The railway that got the world on track.
Hello and welcome to our fourth Tales from the Rails, our monthly podcast on
the Stockton and Darlington Railway, the railway that got the world on track.
In 2025, we'll be celebrating 200 years since the railway revolution,
and indeed the second phase of the Industrial Revolution, was kicked off by

(00:42):
the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
It was here that engineers and business owners came to visit from 1825 to learn
how to run a modern railway.
This is a publicly accessible piece of permanent transport infrastructure that
could be used by anyone to carry anything, including freight,
goods and passengers, for a fee.
Given that many of these visitors came from abroad when transport was limited to ship, horse and foot,

(01:06):
it's extraordinary to think of French, German and American visitors observing
the railway in action at Shildon, taking notes,
accompanying Timothy Hackworth on the locomotive, charging up and down the Ekliffe
Strait in all weathers and returning home to see how lessons learned here could apply back there.
My name is Caroline Hardy. And my name is Archie Mackay.

(01:28):
I'm an archaeologist and the editor and a trustee for the charity The Friends
of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
And I'm managing editor of South West Durham News, a small independent publisher
of four community newspapers, including the Sheldon and District Town Trier,
produced right here in the cradle of the railways.
And as usual, we're joined by Cleo the dog, who hasn't recovered from walking

(01:50):
the S&DR between Hyington Station and Shildon earlier this month.
She's getting on a bit now and needs shorter walks, preferably just sidings rather than main lines.
But she also had a hard question for our guest this week, Anthony Cools,
the Senior Curator of Rail Transport and Technology at the National Railway
Museum at Locomotion in Shildon. We'll hear from him later.

(02:10):
So, this week on Tales from the Rails, we are talking about building bridges.
We're going to look at the railway bridges built by the Stockton and Darlington Railway for 1825.
We chose this because of the newly unveiled and relocated ironwork from the
Gonlis Bridge, which is now available for all to see at Locomotion in Shildon.

(02:32):
Bridges were a vital part of the railway, and they give us an insight into the
engineers and surveyors who designed and built them.
In particular, we'll take a close look at the Gonlis Bridge and the Skirn Bridge.
The Skirn Bridge still supports Live Line in Darlington 200 years after it was built.
It's graced S&DR-headed notepaper, S&DR invoices, was voted one of England's

(02:55):
100 best historic places and appeared on the £5 note in the 1990s.
As usual, we will also, in Stars of the S&DR, find out more about the pioneering
people who worked on the railway. This month will be about Ralph Day,
who worked on the Skern Bridge in 1824 and appears to have left under a cloud.

(03:15):
In fact, this is as close as we're going to get to true crime.
And given that podcasts that deal with true crime have the highest viewing figures,
just mention true crime again.
We'll also be letting you know about events that are coming down the line.
So fetch your diaries, make a cup of tea, put your feet up and enjoy the ride

(03:35):
on the railway that got the world on track.

(04:00):
The design of the Stockton and Darlington Railway was always going to require
bridges, engineers to design them and builders to build them.
The Acts of Parliament passed in 1821 and 1823 granted powers to the S&DR to
compulsory purchase land required to build its railway, but also placed several
obligations on the company.
One of those obligations was the requirement to provide bridges,

(04:23):
not only for public roads, obviously, but also for landowners whose land was
divided by embankments or cuttings for the line.
Accommodation bridges were constructed to connect land that belonged to one
owner severed by the railway.
The S&DR company also used the term occupation bridge for these bridges.
There was no particular design for these bridges at the outset,

(04:45):
but the 1825 bridges were generally built of stone.
The Act of Parliament of 1821 set out that bridges could not have an ascent
of more than 1 foot and 13, and the parapet walls were to be at least 4 foot
high. Aye, this was to make them safe and stock-proof.
In addition to accommodation and occupation bridges, bridges carried the line

(05:07):
over watercourses and culverts carried small watercourses below the line.
The S&DR underestimated the need and consequently the costs of providing such bridges.
The General Committee presented shareholders with a report on 9 September 1825,
so immediately before the opening, stating that unforeseen expenditure had been
incurred building the railway line because of the necessity of purchasing land,

(05:30):
paying for damages to tenants, exceeding by £18,000 the estimate made as to
the value of the land, together with the great expense of erecting occupation bridges,
which your committee did not anticipate.
Although enough land had been purchased to accommodate a double line,
a number of these bridges were only wide enough for a single track.

(05:51):
This was to save costs at a time
when the railway company was hemorrhaging money, but as yet had no income.
But it would mean having to widen these bridges at a later date, once the line was in use.
As we shall see, fluctuating prices of the raw materials to build bridges would
have a significant impact on their design.
Plus, the Quaker belief that architectural ornamentation was a vanity they could

(06:15):
well do without, resulting in simple designs, with decorative features largely
limited to pepperpot copes on the wing walls and string courses over the arches.
You can see those pepperpot copes at Hummerbeck near Broom Mill on the West
Auckland Bypass, the depot walls at the end of the Yarm Branch behind the Cleveland
Bay, and some of the bridges along the Hagerleysies Branch.

(06:38):
It is also worth bearing in mind that by 1825, the country was in a major economic
crisis known as the Panic of 1825,
which was a stock market crash and bank failure, and not the best environment
to be launching a new major infrastructure project.
So let's take a closer look at two bridges on the 1825 line,

(07:00):
the Gaunless Bridge and the Scarn Bridge.
Starting with the Gonlis Bridge. Despite severe weather late in 1823 when railway
cuttings collapsed, quarry tracks became quagmires and workmen were injured,
George Stevenson was able to report in December to the Stockton and Darlington
Railway Company that the river Gonlis between St Helen Auckland and West Auckland

(07:22):
had been spanned in October by the Iron Bridge designed by him and cast by Burrell
and Company of Newcastle.
George Stevenson was a partner in Burrells until 31st December 1824,
and C already had a close working relationship with him.
Further, the new company established for George Stevenson's son Robert by the
key financiers of the S&R, Robert Stevenson & Co, would be located next door to Burrell & Co in 1823.

(07:49):
Burrell & Co worked to a design submitted by George Stevenson and approved by
the directors of the S&R on the 28th December 1822.
But disaster struck. Heavy snow in the winter of 1823-4, followed by flooding
when the thaw came, damaged the bridge badly and so Stevenson had to rebuild

(08:09):
it with an additional span,
taking it to four spans, which would allow more space for flood water to pass under.
The bridge came into use when the line was opened on 27th September 1825.
From the outset, it was assumed that the wagons using it would be hauled by
horse rather than locomotive because its location was on level ground between two inclined planes.

(08:32):
So wagons would be unhitched at the foot of Etherley Incline, attached to horses,
hauled over the Gaunless Bridge and then delivered to the foot of Brusselton
Incline where they would be attached to rope again and hauled up the hill and
down the other side to New Sheldon where the locomotives would be waiting.

(08:53):
Well, the abutments were made
of stone with graceful curved wing walls terminating in pepperpot copse.
The truss below the decking and the supporting pillars were made of a combination
of wrought and cast iron.
It's the first bridge of our modern railway network to use an iron truss and
the lenticular design of the truss is extremely unusual.
And by lenticular, I mean the side view of the deck of the truss was like a

(09:16):
row of lens or eye shapes created by the ironwork. These lens shapes were made
from two curved girders, one above and one below.
The upper girder is in compression, like you have for an arch bridge,
and the lower in tension, like you have for a suspension bridge.
The idea is that this forms a balanced truss where the sideway forces in each
girder cancel out, being equal but opposite in direction.

(09:39):
This leads to a truss with no side forces on its supports and so only requiring simple piers.
Vertical members connect the two girders on either side of the lens shapes and
support the load-carrying deck of the bridge.
These vertical members also transfer some load between the two girders,
which maintain their lens shape.
This creates an efficient truss with an evenly distributed load.

(10:00):
Stevenson's sound grasp of engineering, which I certainly don't have,
resulted in a clever technical symmetry between tension and compression.
It also resulted in an aesthetic symmetry, by which I mean it is rather beautiful.
Walkways for railway workers leading horses were cantilevered out from the sides of the decking.
The use of additional iron pillars at the end of the bridge meant that it was

(10:25):
a self-supporting structure, even without the stone abutments.
Trust bridges were popular and are still used today because they use small amounts
of material but can carry a heavy load.
However, most truss bridges will have the metalwork, or indeed woodwork,
arranged in triangular shapes, not the lenticular shapes that you see at the gauntlets bridge.

(10:48):
So this particular design didn't really catch on.
It was adapted, however, and used by Brunel in 1854 on his much bigger Royal
Albert Bridge across the Tamar, but his decking was below the truss.
It was also adapted for use at the Saltash Railway Bridge near Plymouth in 1859
and the Five Elbe Bridges near Hamburg, built in the period from 1872 to 1892.

(11:11):
Closer to home, Escombe Railway Bridge, number 12, built in 1842.
Uses an interesting design in the form of a bow-sprung single span laid on a
skew and carrying a farm track which bears some resemblance to Stevenson's design.
It was built by the Shildon Works Company in conjunction with John Story of
Darlington for the Bishop Auckland and Weardale Railway Company and,

(11:33):
like the Gaunless Bridge, was made from a combination of cast and wrought iron with timber.
There are therefore not many such iron truss railway bridges in the world and
the Gaunless is the earliest. Or is it?
When you drive into St Helen, Auckland, Durham County Council have put a gateway
sign up proclaiming that this is the home of the earliest iron railway bridge

(11:54):
in the world. But is it, Caroline?
Well, there's a competitor to this claim at the Pontycuff now,
which in English is Bridge of Troughs.
This is an iron truss bridge over the River Taff and was designed by Watkin
George and built in 1793 for his employer, the Cufarthfa Ironworks.
However, it was designed to support both a tramway and an aqueduct to carry

(12:17):
limestone and water into the works, so it's debatable whether it was accommodating
a railway in the modern sense.
Certainly, it bears very little resemblance to Stevenson's Lenticular Trust.
The Gaunless Bridge, therefore, has some claim to being the first purpose-built
railway bridge made of iron in the world.
The bridge remained intact until 1901 when it was dismantled so that an alternative

(12:40):
structure could be placed on the abutments which would accommodate heavier loads of coal.
The trestle legs were cut off at river level and the superstructure moved to
Brusselton Colliery for storage.
The two stone abutments remained on either side of the river gauntlets but were
altered by the NER in order to accommodate a new bridge decking.
The alterations took the form of recesses set into the top of the abutments

(13:04):
to accommodate plate girders.
The original ironwork was preserved,
however, and featured in the 100th anniversary celebrations in 1925.
When a railway museum opened in 1927 at Queen Street in York,
the ironwork was one of the indoor exhibits running down the centre of the large hall.

(13:25):
The ironwork was moved to the National Railway Museum in York in 1975.
When first erected there, it was overlooked by the museum cafe,
but a later reordering of the layouts inside the museum left the bridge ironwork
largely out of sight to most visitors.
But there were people out there thinking that maybe the ironwork would be better

(13:46):
located closer to its original home.
In 2006, I had correspondence with Durham County Council and the National Railway
Museum regarding the possible relocation of the ironwork from York to Locomotion in Sheldon.
Costs were obtained to carry out a feasibility study to look at the practicalities
of moving the structure, and this was the subject of an application for funding
to English Heritage from Durham County Council.

(14:08):
Time passed. In January 2014, the conservators at the National Railway Museum
looked at the bridge again and non-historic timber work was removed from the iron structure.
Overall, the bridge condition was described as poor and requiring remedial work
in terms of cosmetic appearance and fair in terms of structure.

(14:28):
But then as 2025 approached the 200th anniversary of the S&DR.
The NRM were thinking about how they could mark this anniversary and thoughts
return to the gauntless bridge ironwork still sitting in the car park at the
back of the museum in York.
At this point I'm going to introduce Anthony Cools, the Senior Curator of Rail
Transport and Technology for the NRM at Locomotion in Shildon.

(14:52):
Okay Anthony, thank you very much indeed for agreeing to have a chat to us.
I know how incredibly busy you are with certain events on the horizon.
You've noticed that. We've noticed. We're in the middle of lots Lots of action
at Locomotion, which is not only... It's all happening around us, isn't it? Absolutely.
We've got banging and crashing and all sorts of... And one of those diggers

(15:12):
out there needs a good oil.
And there are lots of people in high-vis vests. But this is all action ready
for 2025, isn't it? Yeah, it's fantastic. How exciting. Hive of activity.
So getting back to the Gaunless Bridge, obviously people have been looking at
moving it potentially to here for quite a long time.
When did actually conserving it and moving it to Sheldon become a realistic prospect?

(15:33):
Well, it's been something that the National Railway Museum has been thinking
about for years since the dynamic of how you arrived at York with the car park
and the entrances changed and there became a city entrance rather than just
the car park entrance as was.
But I think it really took a ramp up initially 20 years ago when Locomotion

(15:55):
opened here in Shildon because there was the idea of, well, this was an object
out of place. It wasn't in its rightful context.
And the opening of Locomotion provided the then museum manager of George Muirhead
and colleagues with the idea of, well, this could be a Shildon Phase 2.
Well, it's taken 20 years for Shildon
Phase 2 to happen, but relocation of Gauntless was always part of that.

(16:16):
But I guess you could say that the reality of it has been in the last five years,
as the museum has moved post-COVID through to where are we going for 2025,
what are we doing for new phases of display?
And it isn't just about Newhall, it's about, you know, celebrating the railway
heritage of the North East.

(16:37):
I guess three, four years ago after COVID, it began to take real traction.
And in the last two years, it's been a proper funded project where,
you know, we've gone out to fund as they've supported us.
And the reality is what you see outside looking the best it's done, arguably since 1975.
So on the subject of funding, how much does it cost to move something like that and to get it restored?

(17:01):
Because it wasn't in brilliant condition. No, I mean, the components of the
bridge itself were a mixture of cast and wrought iron.
They hadn't rotted away and everything was pretty good there.
It just looked a bit scruffy. The decking of it had rotted because that was
timber and the weather had done its worst on it.
But, you know, the movement and the conservation, it's run into thousands of pounds.

(17:21):
It's not been a hugely expensive project, but it's been quite a complex one
because, of course, the last time it was moved was 1975 to go into York.
Whilst we had all the drawings and we had all the
schemes of it things have changed obviously we needed to
make sure that it came apart in a in a very
gentle way in a controlled manner i wondered about

(17:41):
that because i was thinking having been outdoors for so long
i sort of imagined it all the bits that
used to come apart wouldn't come apart anymore they'd be corroded
together or something and the sheer practicalities of
moving a metal bridge i don't even know
how how did you know where to start well because we had
the drawings of it and we knew roughly how it slotted together

(18:02):
quite literally with there being no nuts and bolts in its
construction so it's true that it is we researched it fully as to how it would
go we had various contractors in to come and look at moving it so actually i
yes the reality of people assessing it to move it does go back four or five
years but in the end you know you go out to attend a process and And somebody came.

(18:24):
McEwans in West Yorkshire, who've
done a lot of industrial movements and conservation of heavy industry.
Heavy industry, the artifacts, not just heavy, not just normal industrial machinery,
but they had a sympathetic eye towards what it was. So they came, assessed it.
And in reality, when it came to taking it apart, it was a couple of days.

(18:45):
It was amazing how it just came apart.
It's like the opposite to an IKEA. here that's extraordinary
it's really stood the test of time then hasn't it so
it the metalwork didn't need a huge amount of conservation
no i mean it needed it needed shot blasting yeah
and taking back to bare metal so that we could arrest any corrosion and make

(19:05):
sure that you know it was in good condition to go back together so you know
it took a couple of months whilst it was taken away to down to west yorkshire
and and and treated there were a few bits where cast components needed
to have repair to them as well. But, you know, really for something that's.
200 years old it's in extremely good condition oh that's
because it's been looked after for so long obviously now i'm going to

(19:28):
ask the question everybody's going to ask and it's about the color
scheme which is lovely i love it i just
didn't see george stevenson saying to burrows oh
would you when you're finished would you paint it this color and i didn't see burrows
coming up with the idea and i certainly don't see the s and dr coming
up with the idea who seemed quite like gray so where
did that come from that was the well say

(19:49):
about the conservation of it and then and put my teeth in
the shot blasting that was done but because mckeown's know
about conserving industrial artifacts we said you know
let's take a little sample and see what it looks like underneath and
the layers of paint when we'd spec'd up when we specified the
restoration we'd said you know micaceous oxide let's go for
a gray as you would expect you know charcoal quite straightforward

(20:11):
industrial finish and then as they went
back through the layers we found various layers of grey and we
found before we got to the primer we found green and
cream and that was born out
when we wanted to check on it we have a
museum sorry a model of the
gauntlet bridge in the science museum in london it's in making the modern world

(20:32):
exhibition which dates the the model was was refurbished around 1880 and the
model itself is green and cream that's amazing so for something thing that you'd
think would be such a humdrum colour.
And colour always divides people and they say, oh, it's the wrong colour.
But in this real case, by going back through the evidence and the layers,

(20:56):
we know that that's the right colour.
I mean, I love it. I think it looks so attractive and I always loved the Gaunless
Bridge, but I love it even more now that I know it was green and cream.
It's such a difference, isn't it?
It could have just looked like a black industrial lump out there, but now it's vibrant.
And I think it's also something very important that reminds us that the 19th
century wasn't black and white.
Indeed. And I'm just thinking ahead here. Durham County Council have commissioned

(21:18):
new decking for the abutments from Atkins Realis.
And so they'll be coming up with a design and I'm just wondering if they know
about this green and cream and whether they might reference that in the new pitch. Well, who knows?
Who knows? Because it's quite striking in the landscape, isn't it?
It is and I think it is something that's really interesting.
Opinion is divided, as anything is when it comes to matters of colour,

(21:41):
whether it's a locomotive or a bus or whatever.
But the reality of it is it just looks so different and it gives the bridge
as an artefact a new lease of life and a lease of life that is authentic to its history.
Yeah, absolutely. So I mentioned the original abutments, which of course are

(22:02):
still there on either side of the gauntlets. Oh, train going pie.
Was any serious consideration given to trying to put it back on the original
abutments? Not as a museum artefact.
I mean, it's lovely if you can have something in its original location,
but I mean it was removed from there well over a hundred years ago and it's

(22:23):
been a museum piece and we felt that it would be far more.
Appreciated and I don't mean that in any slur on any area or anyone in particular but.
Been a part of the museum collection since 1900
and therefore you know
it needs to remain on our site and actually where we've

(22:44):
cited it it's a symbolic bridge between main and
new hall you know it points one way very good so the
sighting of it on site here at locomotion is very very much thought about yeah
and i think the practicalities of using the old abutments when they were altered
in 1901 to take a different kind of decking it would have been difficult anyway
yeah so So for you, now that you've been working on it for a while,

(23:07):
what's the real significance of this bridge?
Well, I think it's something that I quite often say about a lot of things is
it's the right thing in the right place at the right time.
And the way that the local communities in heritage and the region have got together
and supported its return here, you know, it's cultural restitution in a lot of ways.

(23:28):
But it's also showing that railways are far more than engines, carriages and wagons.
And it's the culmination of a huge amount of work here. I mean,
you and I are speaking as if I've gone and done it myself.
And, you know, we can't. There's been a huge amount of work from our development
team who've raised the money from people, including the Ironmongers Guild, to put it together.

(23:49):
So, you know, there's a wonderful link with Iron founding right back to year
dot with the foundation.
But also our conservation team, Joe Randall, who was our project manager.
Or I'm going to single his name out in case he listens to it.
But, you know, Joe worked a huge amount on this. He's a Darlington lad himself.

(24:10):
So he's got that resonance. He's got that feeling of ownership.
And to see it through, it means a huge amount to everybody here.
And if it means as much to the community as it does to our team at Locomotion and at York,
then that's fantastic. And I really do look forward to seeing many people coming and enjoying it.
I think when the sun comes out on it, it really brings it alive with that richness.

(24:33):
You know, we've got interpretation around it. And of course,
we're telling that wider story of civil engineering in the railways.
You know, it's not just about Stevenson.
Yes, they are very significant, but we're looking at Burrells.
We talk about the influence of that in civil engineering as well,
because of course, Brunel, whose birthday we've not long celebrated,
The Royal Albert Bridge is very similar, lenticular truss design.

(24:55):
So there's lots of different strands, lots of different stories.
That's a very long answer to a short question.
So finally, just a reminder to people, where can they see this piece of ironwork?
They'll be able to see Gawne's Bridge. You can see it already,
really, although part of it's hidden by a hoarding.
But from the 24th of, well, the 23rd of May, which will be the VIP launch,

(25:16):
the bridge will be accessible.
Accessible every hour that the museum is open so that's
10 till 5 during the summer and that'll be seven days a week
from the 24th of may vip launch will there
be cake i don't know we'll have to find out right thank you very much no you're
very welcome caroline thank you right so while all of that is going on at locomotion

(25:37):
in sheldon and do go and have a look at the gauntlets bridge a new decking has
been commissioned by durham county council to span the original abutments on
either side of the gauntlets.
This will be designed by Atkins Realis and consultation should take place on its appearance soon.
This will allow the bridge to come back into use for the new walking and cycling

(25:57):
route which is due to follow much of the 1825 mainline route linking the Honeypot
sites at Locomotion, Hopetown and Preston Park.
The process to get to this point has cost a lot of money and even more time,
so let's hope it's ready for 2025. Thank you.

(26:23):
So the next bridge we're going to look at in detail is the Scourn Bridge in Darlington.
If you don't know where the bridge is, it's down a side lane off North Road,
opposite the new entrance into Hopetown.
While it's surrounded by housing and railings, has unsightly gas pipes running
in front of it, and a car park is in the process of being built for the hordes
of visitors hoped for at Hopetown,

(26:45):
when first used in 1825, it ran across a valley and countryside north of Darlington.
The River Skern wound its way
along the valley bottom and cattle grazed on the fields on either side.
One large building nearby was called Nicholson's Mills and this can be seen
in later images of the Skern Bridge reproduced by the S&DR in their publicity and stationery.

(27:06):
The Skern Bridge was originally to be designed by George Stevenson and constructed
in wrought and cast iron with stone abutments, just like the Gaunless Bridge.
But the price of iron had started to rocket, no pun intended,
from 1823 and that in itself was likely to result in a revised design.

(27:28):
The contracts for the building were let out in parts, foundations,
embankments and the bridge itself.
The specification for the work, stated May 14, 1824, set out that the foundation
should be built of limestone in courses not less than six inches thick.
Generally, stonework for the abutments that would be visible when the bridge
was complete was specified to be free stone, and the invisible stonework was limestone.

(27:54):
Free stone simply meant that it was easily tooled and was most likely to be sandstone.
Of course, quick lime was also used to point the stonework.
However, there were problems with the design of the foundations and the directors
of the S&DR instructed Stevenson to consult the county bridge surveyor,
Ignatius Bonomy, on the basis that their united judgment would result in a better design.

(28:17):
It's possible that Stevenson didn't want to consult Bonomy, or perhaps he was just too busy.
But six weeks later, he was sharply reminded to get on with it.
The contract to build a bridge to the specification was advertised in the Durham
County Advertiser on the 22nd of May 1824.
Six tenders were received, including one from John Carter.

(28:39):
The quotes ranged from £305 to £630, suggesting a widely differing understanding of the requirements.
The contract was awarded to Francis Peacock of Yarm with the cheapest quote
of £305. It was no surprise to anyone who works in civil engineering that his
contract ended up being £550.

(29:03):
Perhaps being concerned about the diverse range of prices, the company also
called Bonomy to offer his professional advice again.
The foundation stone of the bridge was laid in July 1824 with Mr Bonomy's modifications incorporated.
Further doubts were expressed about the use of iron and whether it was strong
enough, bearing in mind the calamitous collapse of the Gaunless Bridge in winter of 1823.

(29:27):
So Bonamy was brought in again to advise. He provided a design and costs for
a stone arch bridge instead.
By November 1824, he was sending very practical advice about the bridge being constructed.
There will be about 300 cubic feet of stone in the arch, and I think it might
be wrought at the quarry, providing a little extra care is taken putting the

(29:49):
blocks, when wrought, into the carts.
As the blocks are large, they need not, I conceive, be piled upon each other.
They should be laid upon straw or turf.
Straw bales worked up loosely would suit best. And the next day he wrote about
the ongoing works to the foundations, the base, and setting out the arches.

(30:09):
I hope that the offset of the foundations locations may be found to project
a little within the great arch, in order to get a stool for the support of centering.
The two sole trees upon which the uprights are supported should be of oak.
And it would also be proper to put a piece of oak between the top of these uprights
and the beam which reaches from wall to wall.

(30:30):
The whole of the arched stones should be prepared, and be on the spot before the centering is fixed.
It is not proper to suffer the weight of stones to hang partially upon the wood,
which weakens in the centering.
The masons who set the pens should be provided with a large mallet to drive
them well, and it is moreover a good plan to wedge them and keep them wedged

(30:53):
until the next course comes on and so forward.
The arch cannot be too tightly set at first.
It will certainly tighten itself when the centering is eased,
but if it has too much play, the form of the arch will be distorted.
Bonamy's design for building the Skern Bridge seems to have been a simple one.

(31:14):
He filled in the valley from slope to slope with masonry except for three arched
gaps, a wide central one for the river to pass through, and narrow pedestrian passageways on either.
It had little in the way of architectural pretension, and its signs were straight.
The bridge was sketched by a journeying cleric and prolific sketcher,

(31:36):
the Reverend John Skinner, of the 26th of August 1825, a month before the railway's opening.
The sketch shows a bridge significantly different from its appearance today,
but it's also different from the bridge as it appears in Dobbin's well-known
painting of the opening day of the S&DR, which he actually painted for the 50th anniversary in 1875.

(31:57):
Having said that, John Dobbin was there on the opening day, but he was only 10 years old.
He may well have made a sketch. His father almost certainly did too.
But when it came to 1875, he based the painting of the bridge's appearance then,
in 1875, and he based Locomotion No.
1's appearance on the version that had been mounted outside North Road Station in 1857.

(32:20):
And that wasn't how the engine had looked at all on the opening day.
Incidentally, and just to take you down a very short siding,
did you know that Dobbin and his family live next door to the Pease family in Darlington?
They lived in Weaver's Yard. I like to imagine young John Dobbin hearing all
about the railway from his neighbours, the Peaseys.
Ralph Day was appointed as Inspector of Bridges to superintend the works for

(32:46):
the Skern Bridge in July 1824. He already had a working relationship with Bonamy
on other County Durham bridges.
However, in the S&DR Company subcommittee minutes for the 17th of December 1824.
It was noted that Ralph Day had been dismissed for disorderly conduct and that

(33:07):
our friend from our last podcast, John Falkus Carter, be appointed instead. said.
Sadly, the minutes are far too discreet to tell us what Ralph Day had got up to to be dismissed.
Payment to him was authorised in January 1825, but that could just be back pay for money he was owed.
The cutting of the line and construction of the embankments either side of the

(33:30):
Scarn Bridge was commissioned from Thomas Law and Company, and a bill for £15.19
and fourpence survives in the archives for this work dated 4th of June 1825.
The view of the opening day train passing over the Skern Bridge went on to be
used on much subsequent publicity for the railway.
The Skern Bridge had been the largest of the bridges built on the line and something

(33:53):
the company were proud of.
But the amount of traffic going over the bridge after the opening day of the
27th of September 1825 was far greater than anyone had imagined.
In the first year, 10,000 tonnes of coal passed over the Skern Bridge,
so that's excluding other forms of freight and passengers.
And within five years, this amount had increased to 52,000 tonnes a year,

(34:17):
plus 40,000 passengers.
Consequently, the embankment walls started to show signs of weakness early on.
John Carter was brought in to design a solution and oversee its implementation.
He added flanked walls to support the battery or embankment,
and in doing so, hid Bonamy's original approach embankments.

(34:39):
The work was due to begin early in 1829, but was delayed by bad weather.
Carto wrote to the company from his home in Hignton.
George Chapman of Aycliffe promised me to commence leading stones for the flank
walls of the Skern Bridge last Tuesday.
I ordered lime for the same, but should ask if possible not to begin the work
for a month, the weather being so precarious at this season.

(35:01):
The sinking and piling of the foundations would run risk of more damage to the
battery than can possibly happen. As it is at present, there is no danger to
the main body of the bridge.
As it turned out, the delay was a couple of months longer.
The flank walls of the Skirn Bridge we may now probably proceed with and do
it as quick as possible, Carter wrote on the 28th of May 1829.

(35:23):
So when the bridge was later shown in Dobbin's painting and indeed on the S&DR's
headed notepaper, it's with Carter's curved flank walls supporting the embankments,
not the flat walls Bonamy designed in 1825 that are depicted.
The embankment for the bridge was widened for a double way in 1831,
with the contract being awarded to John Johnston on the 15th of July.

(35:46):
The creation of a double way on the actual bridge structure was delayed,
however, by a nationwide pandemic when all workers went home and the country went into lockdown.
That sounds familiar, doesn't it? It does indeed. The bridge went through more
alterations towards the end of the 19th century.
Even Carter's flank walls were hidden behind rusticated stonework

(36:08):
and the bridge was increased in width again to five tracks to accommodate the
massive amount of railway traffic arising from the industrialisation of the
area It's this late 19th century rusticated stonework that we still see flanking
either side of the original bridge and on the north side,
the 1825-29 bridge is now largely hidden from view by this late 19th century widening.

(36:31):
Since the mid-20th century, the railway no longer carries lots of freight and
so the active use of the bridge has shrunk back to single track,
although there is still space for double track.
The decking from the late 19th century has also been removed as the extra three
tracks are no longer required.
However, the Scourne Bridge has been in continuous use since 1825.

(36:55):
It represents the restrained embellishment, favoured by the Quaker financiers
of the S&DR, plus it's the most impressive and one of the most technically challenging
engineering structures built for the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
It retains important evidence of early railway engineering, including evidence
of early strengthening works.
It's the most famous work of the architect Ignatius Bonamy, designed and completed

(37:20):
in less than eight months.
It's the embodiment of the momentous achievement of the Stockton and Darlington
Railway, the railway that was so influential in the development of other railways,
both in England and abroad.
For all these reasons, it is listed Grade 1 and if you want to know how special
that is, only 2.5% of listed buildings are Grade 1.

(37:41):
And that's not all. In the 1990s, the bridge with locomotion number 1 passing
over it on the opening day featured on the £5 note and consequently,
Darlington residents of a certain age will still refer to it as the £5 note
bridge. And there's more.
In 2017, Darlington Borough Council completed the new cycle path and associated

(38:05):
landscaping at the Skern Bridge.
They improved the railings nearby, removed the fly tipping, created a wildlife
area, put up a welcoming archway and put interpretation on the site in consultation
with the Friends of the S&DR.
The interpretation panels were pretty quickly damaged by evil disposed persons,
as S&DR committee members would have said, and is due to be replaced soon.

(38:27):
Shortly afterwards, the National Transport Trust gave the bridge a Red Wheel
award for being the oldest railway bridge in the world still in use as such.
Historic England's appreciation of the significance of the bridge in a national
context was shown by the fact that it was included in Historic England's podcast series in 2018,

(38:48):
A History of England in 100 Places, Skern Bridge being the only railway-related place included.
From this summer, the Skern Bridge will be the starting point for many people
who visit Hope Down by Car.
The new car park will be positioned near to the Skern Bridge,
so people will be able to view it on their walk between the car and the museum.

(39:10):
Network Rail have also made some commitments to sprucing the bridge up a little,
which is suffering from occasional graffiti and self-seeded trees growing from the parapet.
If you want to visit either of these bridges, they're both accessible,
although the Gaundless Bridge is only easily seen when locomotion is open.
You can get distant views from Dale Road and Shildon otherwise.

(39:31):
The Friends of the S&DR have produced self-guided walk booklets.
Booklet 1 and 2 feature the Gaundless Bridge.
Booklet 1 will be updated before 2025, and Booklet 2 has already been updated.
The Skern Bridge features in booklet 5,
The Darlington Circular, due to be updated in 2024 and booklet 6,
Between Darlington and Fighting Cocks, due to be updated before 2025 sometime

(39:56):
You can download them for free from the Friends website online library All booklets
can be purchased and posted to you from the Friends online shop and depending on which one,
they cost between £2 and £3.75 each which is a bargain!
Finally, the Railway Station Shop website has a Skern Bridge collection.

(40:16):
Here you can buy key rings, coasters and placemats that feature the Skern Bridge.
Just put Railway Station Shop into your search engine and a percentage of profits
go to the friends of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
Music.
Stars of the S&DR,

(40:37):
This week's Star of the S&DR perhaps didn't shine quite so bright.
Ralph Day, a stonemason and bridges inspector.
You may remember we mentioned our day dismissed for disorderly conduct during
the works to build the Skern Bridge.
This was based on a note in the
Stockton and Darlington Railway Company minutes for 17th December 1824.

(40:59):
So what do we know of Ralph Day? Indeed, can we be sure he was even called Ralph?
After all, the minutes only mention our day.
Our late friend Brendan Boyle looked into this and his findings can be found
in The Globe for April 2018.
It was inevitable that Brendan would uncover numerous people with the surname
Day, many of whom were stonemasons and also had a railway connection.

(41:24):
This keeps happening in research into the S&DR. Last month we mentioned other
John Carters and you haven't met the other George Stevenson yet.
And recently I stumbled upon a second Thomas story, this one from Aycliffe.
Anyway, back to our day. By a process of elimination, Brendan worked out that
our dismissed our day was from Front Street, Hettonley Hall,

(41:47):
five miles north of Durham City.
He was married to Margaret Knox of Sedgefield in the year 1800.
Now, Hettonley Hall seems a bit far away from the Essendare for him to be working there.
But Ralph Day, and he was a Ralph, had a useful contact from previous work.
He was assistant to Ignatius Bonamy, the county surveyor for bridges,

(42:07):
between 1823 and 4, and who'd been brought in to advise George Stevenson on
the design of the Scourn Bridge in Darlington.
Before assisting Bonamy, he had tendered for bridge work being commissioned
by Bonamy for several years, so would be well known to him.
Bonamy's biographer, June Crosby, who wrote a book about him in 1987.
Has described how Bonamy liked to see employed on his work those whom he knew and trusted.

(42:32):
So a recommendation to the S&DR to make use of Day would have been perfectly normal.
So, Ralph Day was employed by the S&DR in July 1824 as Inspector of Works at the Skern Bridge.
By the time Ralph worked on the Skern Bridge, he was 58 years of age.
He was experienced as a stonemason and as a manager and inspector of bridges.

(42:55):
He also owned houses in Hiddenley Hall and had the lease of a pub,
the Lambton Hounds in nearby Newbottle and one of his jobs in 1823 had been
supervising parapet work on the bridge over the Skern at Burnden just outside
Darlington so he was no stranger to the area.
Ralph Day only lasted five months on the Skern Bridge job and I guess we'll

(43:18):
never know what the disorderly conduct was that he was accused of.
However there are regular newspaper paper notices in the Durham County Advertiser
from February 1824, published by the Penshaw Association for Prosecuting Felons.
This consists of a list of people that the Association were keen to detect and

(43:39):
prosecute, considered guilty of theft, robbery, burglary or any other crime
against the person or property of any of us.
This list includes Ralph Day of Hinton Hall.
Was this our Ralph Day? Did he have some accusation hanging over his head?
It didn't go away because the notice was published every February afterwards

(44:00):
from 1826 to 1829. So perhaps the February 1824 notice came to the attention
of the Railway Committee that year and they decided to distance themselves.
We just don't know. Ralph's replacement was none other than John Falkus Carter
of Hignton, who you'll remember from our last podcast, went on to design the

(44:21):
company's three public houses,
its brewery, its warehouse at Stockton, often incorrectly referred to as a ticket
office, and much more besides.
So Ralph Day was dismissed for disorderly conduct and presumably retreated to retirement in Hetton.
He lived on until the age of 75 and died on the 23rd of November 1841,

(44:42):
much undeservedly respected, according to his obituary in the Newcastle Courant on the 3rd of December.
Much undeservedly respected doesn't sound like something you would say about
a convicted felon, though.
His wife Margaret lived until 1853 when their estate was passed on to their
children as set out in Ralph's earlier will,

(45:03):
Alice, James and John Woodhouse Day His son James became a stonemason John Woodhouse
Day became a colliery agent Their daughter Alice Richardson appears to have
pre-deceased both her parents however and her three children moved in with Ralph
and Margaret after her death in 1841 one.
That means that Ralph Day and his married grown-up daughter Alice died in the same year.

(45:29):
That must have been terribly hard for Margaret Day. A different Day went on
to work with the S&DR on the merchandising station in Darlington designed by
John Carter and built 1826-7 just up the road from the Skern Bridge.
Thomas Day was a stonemason in West Auckland.
He teamed up with Matthew Gibbon to tender for works at the merchandising station

(45:49):
which they were awarded due to being the cheapest contract.
Thomas had a younger brother called Ralph, who was also a Mason,
but it wasn't our dismissed Ralph.
Thomas Day went on to be the start of a family with Anne Crowder,
who would retain railway connections, including their son Ralph,
who became a locomotive driver.
The two families appear to have been entirely separate, at least in the early

(46:10):
19th century, and only shared the use of Ralph as a forename and Day as their
surname, their profession and some connection with the S&DR. are.
It sometimes feels like there were enough days working on the railways to make a full week. Music.
Music.

(46:32):
What's this month's news? We've been talking about bridges today,
so let's kick off with a new bridge.
A bridge was placed across the live line at North Road Station over the first
bank holiday weekend in early May.
This bridge joins the Hopetown site based around the 1842 S&DR passenger station,
the 1833 Goodshed and other S&DR buildings, with the new home of the A1 Trust.

(46:55):
So once Hopetown opens in summer of 2024, you'll be able to walk across this
bridge and see the construction of new steam-powered locomotives take place
at the A1 Trust's new engine shed.
This is part of the £35 million development of the site in preparation for 2025.
And Hopetown and Darlington will open on the 16th of July. Hooray!

(47:17):
That £35 million has been spent on conserving the historic S&DR buildings there
and creating a new family-friendly attraction, including a playground modelled
on the Brusselton incline.
That opening week will feature a number of fun-filled activities,
including music and street theatre.
You can find out more by following Hopetown on their Facebook page and sign

(47:40):
up for their newsletter on their website.
Just put Hopetown Darlington into your usual search engine.
And now back to Anthony Cools again at Locomotion in Sheldon for an update on
the new hall. Oh, the Science Museum Group opened a new hall at Locomotion in
Sheldon on the 23rd of May 2024 as part of their preparations for 2025.

(48:00):
It's outside this hall that you'll be able to see the Gaunless Bridge.
So, Anthony, what railway story do you intend telling in the new hall?
We intend to tell several stories, but overarching it is the story of railways
in the northeast and the fact that railways started carrying coal.
Like I say it begins here in

(48:21):
the northeast of England so we have six tracks each track
has a theme first one begins with the Hetton Colliery Railway 1822 goes through
the story of moving coal through the 19th 30 20th century the second track talks
about goods on the railways the third track is about maintaining the railway
so we have cranes we have the snow plows we have various bits of.

(48:44):
Equipment the fourth one talks about the
sort of hidden side of railways industrial railways you know we're
very good in history of thinking about things like
mallard flying scotsman the cornish rivera
express all the glamour the top two percent but we forget
where the money was made for the railways so we
have a line looking at the industrial railways with a locomotive

(49:05):
that worked in a in a bass brewery a wagon from
sheffield sewage works mercifully it's empty
and it's been been clean but all sorts of stuff like that
and then perhaps my favorite track which is um makes it
sound like desert island disc doesn't it my favorite track we've had
a fifth line which is all about
sheldon wagons so it's pretty much um andrew

(49:27):
mclean our head curators tribute to the men
and women of sheldon works so every wagon on that
line was built here in sheldon and i think
think it's lovely and then the final track looks at the
the ending of coal by rail in the 21st century
because of course you know the final coal trains in the uk have only just
moved so our most recent vehicle in there is a

(49:48):
coal hopper from 1999 2000 and then.
We look towards a little bit of the future of freight as to where it goes
because it's not a closed story there's not a
full stop to this you know the story of railways in
the uk continue but for the very first time certainly
in the 20 years that I've worked for the National Railway Museum
and I'm delighted because we're we are telling the

(50:09):
story of freight we're telling the story of
Shildon we're telling the story of the non-passenger railway
all under a roof for the first time if you
look outside at our yard other than the locos
and the the brake vans that we use and the replica rocket
that we use for doing rides on our railway system here
there is nothing now for years we've had wagons and carriages outside and what

(50:33):
new hall has allowed us to do is not just create new displays in new hall itself
but it's allowed us to rearrange and reorder main hall around us also with themes
new interpretation which i'm currently writing of my colleagues.
It's not quite finished in terms of the wording, but the layout in Main Hall
has been revamped as well. So how's that going to work now?

(50:56):
So Main Hall looks at four main themes. We look at the locomotive itself,
the steam locomotive and alternatives to steam. We look at passenger experience.
We look at prototyping and experimentation.
And we look to the future of the railways and design and things that were done.
But all again encompassing what we call the Shildon spirit, the spirit of innovation.

(51:20):
Experimentation, trying out ideas.
You know, Shildon Works sent engineers around the world.
You know, we're very good at venerating Stevenson and Hackworth and remembering
what happened in this area.
But we forget that people from Shildon went to South America to engineer railways.
We forget that the chief engineer of the Great Northern Railway of Ireland served
his time here. People like Matthew Kirtley of the Midland Railway,

(51:43):
Fletcher of the Northeastern Railway, they all came from Shildon having served
their apprenticeships here or worked in the works here.
And so, you know, it's a small town with a global impact. And we tell that story
in our new interpretation.
That's actually brilliant. Small town with global impact. I have to credit Sarah Price with that one.
Do you? I led a guided walk on Saturday and somebody was making exactly the

(52:06):
same point. they couldn't believe that Sheldon was the centre for where all of this was happening.
This is it. And it's one of those ones, as you and I both know to our cost on
occasions, there's all this fighting about the first this, the first that,
and first the other one. The F word.
Yes, that's a good one. But Sheldon really is the first railway town.
It's not possibly, it's not thought to be. So as a microcosm where everything

(52:29):
explodes from, it really is here.
And I think it is a stunning thing that now locomotion through the displays
in main hall and new hall is able to put the town on the map.
Oh, it's exciting times, isn't it? It certainly is. Going back to Newhall,
what sort of other facilities will it have?
Will it have a cafe there as well as in the original hall, that sort of thing?

(52:51):
No, Newhall pretty much is almost like an art gallery for rail vehicles.
So we allow the vehicles to stand on their own in there with the display panels
and the new lighting. The lighting is absolutely gorgeous.
I am biased, but I think it's smashing in there. But no, all the museum facilities
will remain the same as they are now.
Now, there will be loos in Newhall, but other than that, in terms of visitor

(53:15):
facilities, it's the shop and the cafe remain in Main Hall rather than diluting
across the site. Sure, yeah.
So it's a huge investment getting ready for the 200th anniversary.
So how much did it cost, if you're allowed to tell me, because talking about
money is terribly vulgar. It is, isn't it?
And how on earth did you find the money? Well, it's a multi-million pound project.

(53:37):
It's difficult always putting a final cost on it, especially when things are
still on the go but i think it's fair to say it's around six million pounds
as a project at the moment and if i go to my list as i take my very focal glasses off to read.
It's incredible the list of people that have got behind and i think this is
a real measure of the importance of of the scheme so durham county council as

(53:58):
partners the foil foundation,
friends of the national museum wolfson foundation they're all major major funders and then as well
as that we've got the katherine cookson foundation sir james not trust banks
group county durham community funder the platten family fund so many more you
know northumbrian water ridley family charity but also loads of individuals

(54:22):
and smaller groups and trusts because we've.
Money is tight, as you know, through everywhere. And a lot of people rely on the lottery.
And of course, you know, the lottery can't give money to everybody.
So this is a real measure of, I think, how important it is within the region
that so many of these folks have got behind us and said, yes,
we'll give X, we'll give Y, and one leads to another, leads to another, leads to another.

(54:47):
And it's funded the job. And I think that that's absolutely fantastic because,
like we said, we want to tell the story of railways and their importance in the region.
We want to tell the story of Sheldon, but we also want to engage,
inspire and enthuse people, not just historians and enthusiasts,
but families and young people.
The railways in the UK are at a time where we need more railway engineers than

(55:11):
are coming out of college.
And so something that's able, and a lot of these foundations have come because
of our engagement and our education program.
So, you know, you hear quite often, not quite in the background today,
but, you know, school parties, young engineers programs, stuff that we do here.
Because this isn't a static museum, you know, where you have to go,

(55:32):
when people go in. I saw a group go into a different museum last weekend and
the teachers right outside the front door were all putting their fingers to the lips.
And I inwardly cried, no, because, you know, if kids are told that this is somewhere
that it's great, it's interesting, it's fun, they can enjoy themselves, engage with it.

(55:53):
Brilliant. But if they're told it's somewhere they've got to go,
shh, then right on cue, colleagues walking past. Absolutely.
Yeah, so they're all the engineering geniuses of the future. This is absolutely it.
And I think, you know, we've said before, if some of those pioneers of the S&DR
could see what was happening along the entire route in 2024 in anticipation of 2025,

(56:18):
I think they would be astounded.
But I think they'd be very quietly pleased with big smiles on their faces,
faintly incredulous at what they set to having the impact that it does now.
I know. Imagine if there was time travel and you could walk along with Timothy
Hackett and just show him what happened. I think there'd be an amazing amount.

(56:38):
Certainly in the 1820s, there was a huge amount of visionary people.
The courage to fail because they didn't know this thing was going to work.
And little even more did
they know that you know 200 years on we'd be opening new
museums to show I mean the concept of a museum 200 years ago was something very
different so absolutely yes so after all this investment of funds from all these

(57:01):
different places is it still going to be free to visit here it is yes as a national
museum and part of the science museum the national railway museum is free to
enter and having been closed.
Two days a week, Mondays and Tuesdays since COVID, pretty much now to allow
us to deliver this project.
As of the 24th of May, the museum is now free to enter seven days a week, which is brilliant.

(57:24):
So we're back to seven days a week, which is really exciting, really nice.
I've had an uncanny knack of needing to visit Mondays and Tuesdays recently.
Right, well, finally, just to finish, I come armed with a question from Cleo
the dog, who comes to all our podcast recordings.
She does. she wants to know are you still not going to
allow dogs into the museum even if it's just to the cafe well

(57:47):
unfortunately so dogs are welcome on our open
spaces but not in the playground or in the
museum but during the summer we do put tables outside
so she'll be able to join you if you're having a cup of tea outside but unfortunately
not in the main museum or new hall well she's got a big thick coat on which
copes with the british suburb i'm not sure about me anyway thank you very much

(58:07):
anthony you're very welcome and we look forward to seeing you and the friends
in continuing to enjoy the site.
And yeah, good luck for the opening. Thank you ever so much. Thank you.
So 200 years on, there will be a Stockton and Darlington Railway Festival running
from the 29th of March until November 2025.
All sorts of events will be taking place to help celebrate the 200th anniversary of the S&DR.

(58:31):
A draft programme will be launched on the 19th of September this year,
but it will be a dynamic timetable that's expected to grow as more people plan more events.
If you think there's something missing from the programme, then you and your
local community or Heritage Railway need to organise it yourself.
The festival team can help you plan this and will help you to promote it alongside other activities.

(58:55):
They'll also put you in touch with other people with similar aspirations,
but it's increasingly unlikely that they'll be able to fund anything outside
the small S&DR community grants budget, which is proving to be really popular
and therefore highly competitive.
But you might find that by working with local businesses and local communities
that you might be able to find the resources from elsewhere.

(59:17):
The Friends of the S&DR have a tiny budget too, which we can also use to top
up funds if anyone in our local area groups wants to plan something for 2025.
The S&DR team, in partnership with Teesside University, have also submitted
a grant application to the National Heritage Lottery Fund for a digital interpretation
programme to be rolled out for 2025.

(59:39):
If successful, this near quarter of a million pounds will create augmented reality interpretation,
QR-coded interpretation, and digital
games based on exploring the S&DR and collecting virtual treasures.
And if you're worried that there won't be a Steam cavalcade in 2025, there will be now.

(01:00:00):
It's just that in 2025, it will be digital and only if the application is successful.
Yeah, it won't smell the same though, will it? Thank you to the Headley Trust
who have donated £10,000 to the Friends of the S&DR for their campaign to save Hyington Station.
If you haven't chipped in to help the campaign, you can still do so.
Just pop onto the Friends website sdr1825.org.uk and follow the links.

(01:00:24):
We still have beautiful pens made by Andrew Simmons, a descendant of John Carter
who built Hyington Station and the railway tavern in Darlington and the buildings
at St John's Crossing at Stockton.
So that's a great way to support the campaign and buy an unusual gift for someone special.
Thank you also to everyone who turned up on the 25th of May to help clear the

(01:00:45):
depot goods yard area behind Hyington Station.
You are all stars of the S&DR.
Another local friends group has been born, this time in Barnard Castle.
Barnard Castle finally got its railway built by the S&DR in 1856,
but they are keen to participate in the 2025 celebrations.
I guess they'll be gearing up to their 200th anniversary in 2056,

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and I'm going to miss that, I think.
Yeah, I don't think I'll be going either somehow.
However, all being well, should be able to attend the next open day at Thorpe
Light Railway near Walton in County Durham, which is on Sunday,
June the 16th, between 12.30pm and 4pm.
Entry is £3.50 per person, under fives and members are free and gives you unlimited

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rides subject to space on the train.
Bring a picnic and enjoy an afternoon noon at Teesdale's friendly miniature railway.
Refreshments will be available to purchase from the really awesome coffee wagon.
The next G5 Open Day is on the 1st of June from 10 until 1. This is in Sheldon
at the Hackworth Industrial Park.
This group are recreating a full-size, prototypical North Eastern Railway passenger

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tank locomotive for use on heritage railways such as Weardale,
Wensledale and Allen Valley, but maybe later on the main line.
The mural on the wall at Fighting Cox by Lewis of Durham Spray Paints is now
complete. Have a wander and take a look.
This was funded by the S&DR Community Grant Scheme and Friends of the S&DR.

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The next walks booklet to be revised covers the stretch of line between Sheldon and Hyington.
Thanks to Husqvarna for sponsoring this. The content and images have now been
updated and after some last minute proofreading it will go off to the designer.
It should therefore be available from our website sometime in late June, early July.
The next walks booklet to be updated is the Darlington Circular,

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probably August for that one.
The next edition of The Globe comes out in July. The Globe is the journal of
the Friends of the Stockton and Darlington Railway and has a mixture of academic and newsy items.
If you'd like to contribute, please get in touch with the Friends via their
website and I'll get back in touch.
We've been working with Blue Badge Guides on the content of guided walks that

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they hope to offer during 2025 and beyond.
These are professional guides who will offer bespoke tours to visitors to the S&DR area.
They, like you, have access to a wide range of resource material on the Friends
website to help plan their trips out.
Looking to the future we've also attended workshops held by Durham County Council

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for the start of a National Lottery Heritage Fund Priority Places project which
will look to provide at least 10 million pounds over
10 years to heritage in the Shildon and Newton Aycliffe area.
Clearly, we'd love to help them spend their money wisely and meanly on the S&DR.
Music.

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Another month. We hope you've enjoyed our building bridges episode.
There are still plenty of small bridges needing conservation work,
so if you're a specialist historic buildings contractor experienced in working
with lime, do get in touch.
And if you want to help get the route looking neat and tidy through litter picking
and vegetation control, again, get in touch.
Remember, you can also help prepare for 2025 by joining the Friends of the S&DR

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at www.sdr1825.org.uk. Here's a reminder of some other useful contacts.
To email, to contact anyone to do with festival events, the S&DR Community Grant
Scheme or youth education programmes, it's info at sdr200.co.uk.

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If you need help getting your S&DR facts right for your event or business advertising,
just contact the Friends of the S&DR via their website page.
Again, that's www.sdr1825.org.uk. A big thank you, as always,

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to Dave Reynolds of the Railway Institute in Shildon for our theme music.
Also to Lee Morris, who this month was Ignatius Bonamy, and Alfie Nixon, who was John Carter.
And thank you too to Anthony Cools for chatting to us about the Gaunless Bridge and the new hall.
If you have any requests for future podcast themes, please do get in touch.
Next month, providing all goes to plan and there's no oakum in the tubes,

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we'll be talking about Active, also known as Locomotion No. 1 with Dr. Michael Bailey.
And if there's a subscribe button on your screen, we'd be really grateful if
you would press it. So it's goodbye from me, Caroline Hardy.
And it's goodbye from me, Archie Mackay.
Right, Cleo, time for a walk around Hackworth Park?
Nope, we can't go to Locomotion for a cheese scone. They won't let you in. I know, I know, I know.

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Music.