Hopetown

This month we are looking at the latest S&DR visitor attraction to entice people from near and far – that is Hopetown in Darlington. This major visitor attraction is centred on an internationally significant collection of S&DR railway buildings. This podcast will explore these buildings and the new attraction that is the result of £35 million worth of funding.

In stars of the S&DR we will also learn a little about George Stephenson. No, not the world renowned engineer George Stephenson, but a different one! Listen to find out more. 

Discover the fascinating stories and events from the past month and find out about upcoming events (even more of them now that 2025 looms near) and the latest news on the conservation, interpretation and commemoration of the S&DR.

So, plug in your headphones and enjoy a journey through railway history, heritage, and the vibrant community efforts leading up to the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 2025.

Many thanks to Archie Mackay for editing this while on holiday and to Niall Hammond for covering for Archie while Archie had Covid. Thanks also to Lee Morris for being George Stephenson and to Dave Reynolds for our theme music. A special thank you to Janet Preshous of the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust and Richard Snowden of the Darlington Railway Preservation Society for joining us at Hopetown.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Music.

(00:26):
Hello and welcome to our sixth Tales from the Rails, our monthly podcast on
the Stockton and Darlington Railway, the railway that got the world on track.
My name is Caroline Hardie. I'm an archaeologist and heritage consultant and
I'm the editor and a trustee for the charity The Friends of the S&DR.
And this month there is no Archie. Poor Archie has gone down with Covid and

(00:51):
he's kindly decided to keep it to himself.
So stepping up to the plate is Niall Hammond. Hello Niall, it's not your first
time on the podcast but introduce yourself anyway.
Hello Caroline, yes I'm an archaeologist and heritage consultant as well and
also your husband but this afternoon I shall be the chair of the Friends of
the Stockton and Darlington Railway.

(01:11):
And I should say that Archie despite being very poorly has agreed that he would
still edit this podcast so thank you very much, Archie.
Over the last 10 years, top people have been preparing for the 200th anniversary
of the Stockton and Darlington Railway and things are now coming to fruition.
The excitement as we near 2025 is tangible.

(01:33):
We've already seen the opening of a new shed at Locomotion in Shildon,
creating Europe's largest undercover collection of railway vehicles.
This month, we're looking at the latest visitor attraction to entice people
from near and far. That's Hopetown in Darlington.
This major visitor attraction is centred on an internationally significant collection
of S&DR railway buildings.

(01:54):
This podcast will explore these buildings and the new attraction that is the
result of £35 million worth of funding.
In Stars of the S&DR, we'll also visit George Stephenson.
Now, I know you're thinking of the world-renowned engineer George Stephenson,
but you'd be wrong. Keep listening to find out more.

(02:14):
We'll also be letting you know all about events that are coming down the line
and news from the last month So plug in your headphones and enjoy the ride on
the railway that got the world on track.
Music.
Face of the world. Hopetown in Darlington opened on the 16th of July.

(02:36):
Many of you will know this previously as the Head of Steam Museum,
or if you're of a certain vintage, North Road Railway Museum.
It's now named after where the Kitching Brothers set up their foundry in 1831
in the full and certain knowledge that the railway would be a lucrative source of work.
It's also where in the late 1830s Settlement grew, providing homes for the foundry workers.
This complex of Stockton and Darlington Railway buildings has had a massive £35

(03:00):
million spent on it over the last few years.
An entry to the museum now is free, although special exhibitions will have an
entry fee and the playground modelled on the Brusselton incline will also have an entrance fee.
I have to say this playground looks far too good for children and I fully intend
to have a go all by myself, assuming they'll let me in without a child though.

(03:22):
Dogs are not allowed in the playground, which is bad news for Cleo,
but there is pawsome news too.
Dogs are allowed in the cafe. Yay!
Hopetown is located on the live line that runs along the original 1825 route
used on the opening day, 27th of September 1825.
So if you hop on the train at Shildon and get off at North Road in Darlington,

(03:43):
you've just taken the same route as hundreds of people did on the opening day
with George and James Stephenson driving locomotion number one and Timothy Hackworth as the guard.
Where the railway line crosses North Road in Darlington, it's still carried
by a bridge built by the S&DR in 1856.
But before that, it was a level crossing and the main area of interaction between

(04:05):
road traffic and rail traffic.
It was here that the passenger coaches joined the line and where the passenger
coaches were parked up overnight.
And there was a bit of fighting about that, which the company got to park their
coaches in certain places.
It was around here that railway staff lived and worked and here that the S&DR's
first merchandising station was built between 1826 and 7 and later turned into

(04:28):
a passenger station in 1833,
complete with the first female railway employee,
Mary Simpson, who looked after the waiting room and shop.
Sadly, that building was demolished in 1864, but we hope to have more news on that structure later.
It was also from the Hopetown area that the Darlington branch line,
which also opened in 1825, peeled off the main line and headed towards town.

(04:52):
Just a little south of here is the railway tavern of 1826-7,
and a bit further south down Northgate, Edward Pease's house.
Street names around here are named after railway pioneers.
MacNay Street was named in the 1870s after the S&DR's engineer and secretary, Thomas MacNay.
Stephenson Street, developed at the same time, was probably named after George

(05:14):
Stephenson, but no, not that George Stephenson. We'll get back to that later.
This George Stephenson was a senior manager with the S&DR and later the NER until 1873.
So at Hopetown, you really are in the heart of historic railway territory.
So we thought we would take a closer look at the historic buildings all located
in the triangle between the branch line and the main line that make Hopetown today.

(05:38):
People arriving by car will park in a newly constructed car park near the Skerne
Bridge and walk back towards Hopetown.
Our May podcast on bridges took a close look at this bridge,
dating originally to 1824-5, so we don't need to look at this in more detail here.
The busy road that is North Road now has a nice new pedestrian crossing to help
the hordes of visitors get from the car park to the main site safely.

(05:59):
The first buildings on the site of Hopetown were not actually built by the S&DR.
That was Kitching's foundry built in 1831.
William and Alfred Kitching moved their iron foundry business to the new site
at Hopetown where the Darlington branch left the main line.
William had opened an ironmonger's shop and small foundry in Tubwell Row in

(06:20):
the centre of Darlington in 1790 and had won a contract to provide nails for
the building of the railway in 1824.
In the same year, he became an S&DR shareholder and committee member.
The Kitchings were to continue to have a very close working relationship with
the S&DR and extended their foundry through the decades until 1863 when they

(06:42):
sold up to the Northeastern Railway who also amalgamated with the S&DR that year.
Towards the end of the 19th century, part of Kitching's foundry was demolished
to create more space for sidings. There is nothing left of the foundry buildings.
Sadly, the last of them was demolished in 1975 when the railway station was
restored for the 150th anniversary of the S&DR.

(07:03):
The buildings were under the grassy area at the heart of Hopetown,
now called Foundry Field.
This is a useful communal space, somewhere you can bring a dog,
have a picnic, and enjoy various events that will be laid on for visitors.
The main welcome building at Hopetown will be the S&DR Goodshed, built in 1833.
This is a beautiful building with tall radial arched openings facing down North

(07:24):
Road and north towards the main line, but until recently hidden from view by
self-seeded vegetation and old bits of machinery.
The Goodshed was designed by the S&DR's chief civil engineer Thomas Storey.
It replaced the first goods warehouse, also known as the merchandising station, across the road.
The single-storey 1833 Goodshed went on to be extended first by extending it westwards,

(07:47):
then another extension of 1839-40 being designed by John Harris,
who had taken over as the S&DR's chief engineer in 1836.
This had added new north range to the building and so doubled it in size.
The Goodshed was approached from the south for road traffic collecting goods
in transit from the building. This is difficult to visualise today because of

(08:11):
the changes in ground levels between the south side of the Goodshed and North Road.
Indeed, there are now a huge flight of steps and a route leading from North
Road to the entrance, an approach that would have been challenging to negotiate
with horse and cart in the 1830s.
It helps to understand that North Road was at a higher level before 1856 and
MacNay Street didn't exist, and so the approach was a relatively simple incline

(08:35):
into the Goodshed yard via gates and a watchman's cabin in the corner.
On the other side of the Goodshed, four sets of sidings left the main line to
the north and approached the bays into the building from where goods were unloaded
from wagons ready for collection.
The bays alternated between taller wagon bays and either shorter pedestrian or window bays.
These sidings are now reflected in the landscaping with differential sets in

(08:57):
the ground marking the routes of the sidings.
The windows are now re-glazed with attractive black glazing bars.
Prior to the current Hopetown project, the building was used by the Darlington
Railway Preservation Society, who have now been relocated to the 1861 shed further
up the line. We'll hear a bit more from them later on.
The Good Shed now contains a welcome area, a cafe, loos and a gift shop.

(09:18):
The building has not been over-restored. That means the different phases of
construction are still in evidence and scarring on the walls.
The clock tower once again displays clocks on all faces. This is more significant
than at first it might seem.
The original clock was the company's principal clock that others could use to
ensure that they were ready for timetabled services and which would inform the

(09:40):
correct time for the growing number of clocks owned by the company.
Time was soon to be standardised throughout the country because of railway travel.
Inside the Goodshed there are now three clocks set for London time,
Bristol time and Darlington time.
A lovely way to show what life was like before the railways created a need for
standardisation of time across the country.
The clock bell has not been restored. In 1838, William Kitching was instructed

(10:04):
to make a bell as large as possible for the clock tower, but has long since been lost.
You can see why the Kitchings were keen to work closely with the S&DR. are.
They got quite a lot of work out of it, and they were also Quakers,
like many of the key players, and they favoured giving work to fellow friends,
members of the Quakers, rather than others.
Inside, you're now welcomed by the clickety-clack of the old-fashioned departures

(10:25):
board, revealing various railway scenes and people.
I hadn't actually realised I missed this sound until I went inside.
There's a stunning sculpture of a children's wagon having coal poured into it,
and when you're in the shop, look up and admire the clever lighting.
You'll love it, and want the same at home.
The cafe looks like a civilised place to meet up and have informal small meetings.

(10:47):
A large hologram display runs along one wall of the cafe.
Outside, where the sidings that ran into the Good Shed are marked out in differently
coloured sets, and there's more cafe seating out there and a large area suitable
for outdoor entertainment and events.
One of the big improvements made is that the goods agents' offices of 1840 on
MacNay Street are now visually reconnected with the Good Shed.

(11:10):
Previously, vegetation and fencing divided the two, and their relationship was all a bit lost.
The next building visitors are most likely to enter is the 1842 passenger station,
known as North Road Station.
The approach to this from the Goodshed is now accompanied by a soundscape triggered
by people walking between two rows of speakers.
The sounds of a steam engine, seagulls at the port in Stockton,

(11:32):
metal clanging, all places you into the world of steam in the 19th century.
Here's a sample of the sounds played.
The 1842 passenger station was built when the old converted merchandising station

(11:53):
across the road was no longer considered good enough to function as a passenger
station, which had been doing since 1833.
Negotiations had taken place with the emerging Great North of England Railway
in the hope that both railway companies might agree a location for a joint station worthy of Darlington.
However, negotiations broke down over the siting of this station and so Darlington

(12:15):
ended up with two railway stations. stations, one at Bank Top for the GNER and
one adjacent to the Goodshed and the mainline for the S&DR.
This will certainly confuse visitors to Darlington in 2025, when they alight
the train on the East Coast mainline and wonder where all the S&DR buildings are.
It's quite a long walk to North Road Station from Bank Top, or another train

(12:36):
ride, which incidentally would take you over the Skerne Bridge.
That would be worth waving your top hat for.
John Harris, the S&DR's resident engineer from 1836 to 1847,
was instructed to design this new passenger station and contracts were left
in September 1841 for its construction, completion probably being around April 1842.
The new passenger station was approached along what later in the 1870s became known as MacNay Street.

(13:02):
It consisted of a spacious train shed roofed with timber queen post trusses
and fronted with a single-storey, plain classical Italianate façade built of
sandstone rubble and covered by I render.
The central part had a portico and the end bays were slightly set back.
Staff offices and accommodation were located separately at the west end.

(13:23):
In 1857, the S&DR had one of the black and white ceramic plaques fixed to this end of the building.
This confirms that this part was still in residential use at this time because
these plaques were only used to label groups of residential buildings.
We can guess the layout of these residential buildings based on the surviving
porter cellars below, which seemed to preserve the original room layout from above.
I climbed into these spooky cellars in 2014 and it was so interesting to see

(13:49):
old cupboards and a chimney breast showing where a fire once warmed the night
porters and the original multi-pane sash windows that allowed a little light from above.
The cellars are also the location of the building's well-known ghost story.

(15:00):
But that's ghost stories for you, full of the unexplained. So, back to ground level.
The men's outdoor urinals were located on the other east end of the platform.
A whiffy spot best avoided, I should imagine. Hmm.
Initially, there may have been no facilities for the ladies.
Perhaps ladies were meant to stay at home in the kitchen? Careful now!
The station was altered on many occasions, lengthening both the station buildings,

(15:23):
bringing toilets indoors, creating waiting rooms for ladies,
experimenting with separate entrances for separate classes,
increasing the number and length of platforms, and most noticeably the construction
of an upper storey in 1876.
This was to accommodate new telegraph equipment.
And a three-road carriage shed was built onto the rear of the station in 1860 to 1861.

(15:45):
This additional shed is still used by the Bishop Auckland branch line.
In 1890, the station was renovated to try to make it more attractive to passengers.
Another through line was created and the present wooden footbridge, built in 1893 added.
In 1897, a waiting room was added to the island platform and possibly about

(16:05):
the same time a timber book stall was also added there.
Other internal alterations were made to offices, toilets and parcel rooms as
part of ongoing adaptations accommodating passenger demands and changing technology.
Further customer orientated alterations were made in 1920.
A waiting room was installed in place of the station master's office and ticket

(16:26):
barriers installed at the platform end of the footbridge.
The building is therefore much altered, but it doesn't look it.
That's because successive architects and engineers have respected the original
design of the building and so it looks like one phase instead of the several that it actually is.
The investment in Bank Top Station in 1887 was always going to divert traffic

(16:49):
from North Road, but the station managed to hold its own for a time.
But time was running out. The North Eastern Railway became part of London and
North Eastern Railway, LNER, in 1922, and rumours were circulating about a possible closure in 1930.
Alterations were now about saving money, and as the government decided to implement

(17:11):
the recommendations in Beeching's report in the 1960s, traffic through the station
reduced as lines closed.
In 1964, it was closed to passengers with complete closure the following year.
Decay rapidly set in, hastened by vandalism. The historical importance of the
station was recognised by a number of local people.

(17:32):
Borough Council, Museum and Tourist Board staff, who, witnessing neglect over
the last ten years, grouped together to rescue the station and create a museum,
and rescue its associated goods shed and carriage works, all in the nick of
time before 1975 and the 150th year commemorations of the opening of the S&DR.
A few alterations had to be made, including the erection of a dividing wall

(17:53):
between the main train shed, which would now be the railway museum, and the live line.
The ends of the train shed were closed and the platform arrangements reversed
to what they were in 1864.
But if it hadn't been for the vision of the station's rescuers,
the station might no longer exist, although some of the alterations were potentially
damaging to the fabric by introducing modern materials.

(18:15):
Some of the restoration work to the buildings at Hopetown reverses some of these
alterations from 1975, so the ends of the station are now glazed so there is
a better understanding of the building being a place where traffic and people
pass from one end through to the other.
Also, glass windows are being inserted into the wall at the back so that visitors
to the museum can also see the lifeline in action.
The new museum is much more interactive than the old one.

(18:37):
There are the talking heads of George Stevenson and Edward Pease discussing the use of locomotives.
Dobbin's painting of the opening of the S&DR has been brought to life with animation.
There's a replica locomotion number one that can be clambered over with buttons
to press that make a variety of railway noises like this.

(18:59):
The newspaper and bookshop now has a resident shopkeeper who springs into virtual
life when you walk past his kiosk.
The Black Box is located here too. Inside, you'll be immersed into the opening
day and experience how the railway developed across the world.
The experience will certainly move you in more ways than one.
There's a charge to enter the Black Box of £7, but you've got time to save up

(19:21):
though because it isn't actually going to open until September.
Throughout the platforms, there are places to stop and interact with social
media, scan QR codes, have your photo taken with digital backdrops,
or the old-fashioned cut-out figures with holes to pop your head through.
Inside, Edward Pease's town carriage is pride of place, along with the locomotive

(19:42):
Derwent, designed by Timothy Hackworth and built at Kitching's Foundry in 1845.
Opposite the 1842 passenger station is the S&DR Carriage Works on Hopetown Lane.
Previously, it was home to the A1 Trust and NELPEG, the North East Locomotion
Preservation Group, but it's now part of the wider Hopetown offer.
The S&DR built the Hopetown carriage works in 1853 to the designs of Joseph

(20:04):
Sparkes, a local Quaker architect who was also responsible for the Darlington
Mechanics Institution and the 1856 extension to North Road Station.
Contracts were let in May, with the stipulation that work would be under the
supervision of the engineer and secretary, Thomas MacNay, with the immediate
care of Joseph Sparkes as architect.

(20:25):
The works were built for the repair and then later for the construction of railway passenger carriages.
The new building was to be located on the Darlington branch line,
which would be used to take carriages into and out of the building.
It initially employed a small workforce of 11, and at its peak employed 310 men.
The North Range was intended for joiners in a smithy, while the South Range was a paint shop.

(20:45):
After assembly or repair, each carriage being made at the carriage works was
rolled down one of the two tracks which ran the full length of the building
until it was standing on the hand-operated turntable which was connected to
a short line laid at 90 degrees to the running line.
This led out through the only carriage arch which was located in the centre of the east elevation.

(21:07):
Once outside, the carriage was turned again so that it could be removed from
the site by means of the siding which lay parallel with East Wall.
This whole procedure was laborious and inefficient as it was only possible to
move one vehicle at a time.
The lack of forethought in the design meant that the turntables were rendered
useless when carriages began to appear first with six wheels and then with separate bogies.

(21:31):
As well as being too long for the turntables, they became too heavy to manoeuvre by hand.
The carriage works closed in 1886, transferring most manufacturing and repair pair to York.
Thereafter, the building was adapted for a variety of purposes,
including warehousing, car maintenance works, before finally returning to heritage
railway use in recent years.
Although the new carriage works were built by the S&DR and the carriages and

(21:54):
wagons made there were in-house products to company patterns,
the products were often intended for other railways too.
There are only a few of these Hopetown-made carriages or coaches surviving.
One item survives Lives in Preservation, the so-called Forcett Coach, now based at Shildon.
This was built in 1867, so after the S&DR was amalgamated with the North East

(22:15):
Railway, but when there was still local control over S&DR matters.
It's another partial survivor from the carriage works, but not at Hopetown.
Chris Lawson of Nelpeg owns the ex-NER officer's inspection saloon number 1661,
better known these days as the Old Gentleman's Saloon from the original 1970 Railway Children film.
Although rebuilt three times subsequently, it was originally built by the S&D

(22:40):
Art Hopetown Carriageworks in 1871 as a four-wheel smoking saloon, number 221,
for use on the railway's line from Teesside over Stainmore to Tebay and the West Coast.
While therefore it shows no external traces of its original construction,
it remains an original Hopetown Carriageworks vehicle at heart and is still

(23:01):
in operational use on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway on its vintage train
weekends in the summer and other special occasions.
It'd be lovely if it could make a return visit during 2025.
As part of the works to create the new visitor attraction, an artwork has been
placed outside the carriage works on Foundry Green.
This is inspired by the turntable that once sat there. This turntable-shaped

(23:23):
ironwork has tracks cast into it and the names of various railway professions.
The building now has two separate functions in the two separate spaces,
once used for joiners and a smith and a paint shop.
One end is now a display area where special exhibitions will be housed and they
might have an entrance fee.
This space will also be available for large gatherings, such as conferences or celebratory events.

(23:47):
The other end is for the archives that used to be held in the Ken Hoole Study
Centre, along with research stations to work at. The two Heritage Railway bodies
that were located in here before the works to Hopetown started have now been relocated.
The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust is now at the north end of the site in a new Locomotive
Works building called Darlington Locomotive Works.

(24:08):
A visit to Hopetown now means you can cross the live railway line via a new
footbridge and this will take you to a high level viewing platform and nowhere
else I should point out, not even into the building.
And from here Here you can watch the A1 Trust build modern steam locomotives
on the days that Hopetown is open.
The A1 Trust had previously built Tornado and are currently building Britain's

(24:29):
most powerful steam locomotive, the Prince of Wales.
You can find out more and donate to their projects. Just enter A1 Steam Locomotive
Trust into your search engine.
Here is Janet Preshous from the A1 Trust who I met up with at Hopetown on a
sunny sneak preview day earlier this month.
Hello, my name is Janet Preshous and I work for the A1 STEAM Locomotive Trust

(24:53):
and my role for A1 STEAM is to look after all our covenanters and also we're
always looking for people to support us.
So I'm very happy to receive telephone calls or emails and obviously word of mouth.
I worked initially over in the carriage works for approximately six to nine

(25:15):
months before we went to our new building, DLW, the Darlington Locomotive Works, on 9 Bonomi Way.
Fantastic building. Facilities are phenomenal.
Previously, we had obviously no air conditioning. There were old windows,
etc. But it had lots of character.
But in this new building, it's very modern.

(25:36):
Facilities are excellent. But we have a viewing gallery.
And within that viewing gallery, people can actually see what's actually going
on in the works. And that is accessible via Hopetown, up a lift or up the stairs,
across the bridge into the viewing gallery.
And they can see what's going on in there, which currently we're working on

(25:58):
the P2, 2007 Prince of Wales.
We've just had delivery of the tender frames. They can do it any day that Hopetown is open.
And what about specific open days when people can maybe have a closer wander
around the works? Yes, of course.
We're open the first and the third Saturday of every month from 10am to 3pm,

(26:20):
where we have volunteers on hand to answer any questions.
And there's obviously leaflets they can take away with them.
Right. So if people come now, how many projects are actually up and running in that building?
At the moment, we're working on the P2 2007 Prince of Wales.
Right. Brilliant. Thank you. Thank you very much, Janet. Thank you, Caroline. Thank you.

(26:42):
Nelpeg, North East Locomotive Preservation Group had been relocated
to the 1861 shed on Whessoe Road along with
the Darlington Railway Preservation Society The 1861 shed was designed by William
Peachey for the S&DR and had four tracks and could accommodate up to 12 locomotives
at a time It was subsequently used as the paint shop for the North Road works
just up the road and now where Morrison's stands where the old clock has been

(27:05):
retained on the street front elevation to North Road,
In 1908, the engine shed was the scene of a fatal accident when a runaway train
smashed a pilot engine into the building, which was then being used as a paint shop.
Having brought down some of the walls and ceiling, it then collided with a stationary
engine, which in turn shunted into
a locomotive being finished off by poor Albert Hudson, who was killed.

(27:29):
The repairs to the walls are still discernible on the west side of the building.
Here is Richard Snowden from DRPS. Again, I chatted to him at Hopetown when
we were having a look round before it opened.
Hello, I'm Richard Snowden with the Darlington Railway Preservation Society.
Hello, Richard. Now, Darlington Railway Preservation Society have been moved

(27:50):
from the 1833 Good Shed, which is now the Welcome Building,
and you're now located in the 1861 Engine Shed. How are you liking your new accommodation?
Well, it's completely different. It's a nicer space.
It's clean. It's tidy. Heidi, it's somewhere that we've got more room to carry
out restoration than over all the floor goes.

(28:12):
We're in a better location as well for people coming to see us.
Literally straight in off the road, you're into the yard outside the 1861 shed
and then you're in through the entrance way and that's where we are based out of there.
Right, so there's no direct access from Hopetown, the new visitor attraction, to the engine shed.
People will have to walk out onto the street and then walk up Wessel Road?

(28:34):
Yeah, so you'll have to come up Whessoe Road past McDonald's and then just follow
the wall up the left hand side and then you come to a big set of green gates,
come in through the gates and the engine sway is on the right hand side there.
And what sort of things can people watch when they come to visit?
It all depends what we're on with at the time to be honest. We could be outside

(28:55):
in the yard doing track work, we could be in the shed itself carrying out overhauls on engines.
We're currently doing cosmetic overhaul on Derwent 2, which came from Whesoe
Works. That was their diesel shunter.
We're also carrying out a re-tube on the Peckett steam local that we have,
Northern Gas Board number one.
That used to work in Valley Street at the gas works.

(29:16):
So there's a range of stuff that people can come and see. There's complete locals.
It's all mainly Darlington's railway history. Locals that have worked in Darlington, built in Darlington.
We've got our history on the wall and there's all sorts of people to come and see.
That sounds wonderful. Are there any particular days they should come or are
you open all the time, seven days a week?

(29:36):
We're mainly open on a Tuesday evening, which is when we do our work.
We're hoping to start opening the same as A1 Steam Trust and NELPEG,
the first and the third Saturday of each month.
Right, first and third Saturday of each month.
Yeah, so that we're all open at the same time so that people aren't coming for
that weekend for a certain group and then another weekend for someone else.

(29:57):
If we're all open at the same time it gives people more chance
to go and see everyone and see what's going on in one day instead
of coming back various weekends yeah so it's going
to be a really busy action-packed day if people come on
that Saturday isn't it because they can spend it at Hopetown
go over the bridge view the A1 trust and
then walk up the road and see what you're up to yeah hopefully oh brilliant

(30:18):
thank you very much Richard no problem thank you there'll be live Steam events
again starting in Easter 2025 so trains will travel to the shed from the main
Hopetown site but there won't be an option to get off the train and visit the 1861 shed that way.
I think the access issues here will simply put more people off visiting the building, sadly.
There are a couple of other railway buildings around the site,

(30:39):
but these are not currently part of the Hopetown offer.
For example, the goods agents' offices on MacNay Street takes the form of a small,
classically detailed stone-built house of the period and was constructed in 1840.
It might be the work of John Harris, responsible for designing the company's buildings until 1844.
The office is of two storeys and its principal elevation faces away from MacNay

(31:03):
Street towards the Good Station, now the Welcome Building, because the staff
located here were paid to oversee the Good Station opposite.
Internally, the stone staircase provided a robust surface that the workers'
wooden clogs and hobnailed boots could clatter over without damage to the fabric. brick.
Windows at the top of the stair provided views along MacNay Street and a cleverly

(31:24):
shaped window ledge allows officers to lean out a little with a better view,
possibly unencumbered by any overhanging belly should that be an issue.
The two buildings, the goods agent's offices and the goods station are therefore
functionally and visually part of the process of managing the transportation
of goods to and from Darlington, so do take a moment to admire it as you approach the goods shed.

(31:47):
Between this building and the carriage works is what is known as the Lime Cells.
This is a depot built in the 1840s where lime was delivered from Shildon and
Middridge area by train along the main line and down the Darlington branch line.
This depot was located on a siding off the branch line which continued down
to the terminus at Cocker Beck.
Lime had several important uses. When the S&DR first opened,

(32:08):
it was mainly used for agricultural purposes.
However, it was essential in the building trade and as more houses and railway
buildings were constructed in the area, more lime was needed.
It was also used in various industrial processes such as removing ammonia from
gas and it was used in foundries to remove impurities from the iron ore,
the nearest being Kitchings of course from 1831.

(32:30):
Although I expect they probably had their lime brought straight into their foundry
rather than via a lime depot down the road.
Prior to this building being constructed, lime was delivered to the S&DR's depot
at the terminus of the Darlington branch line and indeed all other depots,
often mistakenly called coal depots,
but they actually dealt with all retail freight such as coal,

(32:50):
limestone, gravel and even manure.
The lime cells are a two-storey building made of brick with sandstone detailing
but later timber shuttering makes this difficult to appreciate.
Both gable ends have brick arches but only the one on the north-west end nearest
the carriage works was ever an open one.
So wagons were shunted into the building on a rail spur through this north-west
arch at first floor level and lime emptied into the four cells below by lime

(33:14):
attendants who operated the bottom opening wagons from platforms on either side
of the rail track and then the wagons exited the building the same way they came in.
At first floor level the building may have originally been designed to be open
to the street but was quickly fitted with louvres between cast iron columns
ensuring good ventilation but also as an effective safety barrier stopping the

(33:36):
lime attendants falling out into the street.
It's not clear if the ground floor cells had doors or gates originally but a
yard area at the front consisting of a cobbled surface allowed carts to be manoeuvred
when they came to collect lime from the building.
Fittings internally suggest that hoists may have been used to help load carts with sacks of lime.
So lime agents, or possibly individual builders or farmers, may have driven

(34:00):
to the lime depot to purchase and collect lime, a bit like your local builder's merchants.
There's no certain evidence that it was built by the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
It could have been built by a private individual.
The land did belong to the S&DR, but they were not adverse to selling off land
that wasn't being used, and there were certainly adverts in the local press
for land for sale in this area.
Part of the budget to conserve Hopetown's historic buildings was to include

(34:24):
the lime cells, but in the end there were insufficient funds.
The building remains in a terrible state of disrepair and blights a significant
street corner close to Hopetown.
It does now belong to Darlington Borough Council, which at least means the decision
not to conserve it and include it as part of Hopetown can be revisited in the
future once the rest of the site is up and running.

(34:45):
In the process of creating this amazing visitor attraction, something has been lost.
Lost the Darlington branch line which we've already talked about
ran behind the carriage works and the lime cells in 1825
it ran beyond this point to the cocker beck near where
the railway tavern is now but this was demolished and developed after
the 1870s but a stretch still survived complete with a modern rail track until

(35:06):
the work started to create Hopetown now it's gone the Darlington branch line
opened on the same day of the main line in 1825 it's just as significant hopefully
this can be put right in future with the return of a track or even landscaping to represent its route.
Hopetown is therefore a really important grouping of Stockton and Darlington railway buildings.
The Historic England Selection Criteria for Listing Buildings,

(35:30):
that is, buildings that are nationally important and worthy of preservation.
Highlights that purpose-built railway structures that pre-date 1850 will often
be of international significance as being amongst the earliest railway structures in the world.
Of the surviving group at Hopetown, one dates to 1825,
Skerne Bridge, one to 1833, the goods shed, two date to 1840, the lime cells and

(35:56):
the goods agents offices, and one dates to 1842, North Road Station.
That's a pretty significant grouping, which is all the better for the later
carriage works and engine shed and the archaeological remains of Kitching's
Ironworks and the merchandising station.
And there's a great playground, so go visit. Tell your friends.
If this is a success, it will help ensure that the good works continue on those

(36:20):
elements of railway heritage that are still to be rescued.
The offer here is completely different to that at Locomotion in Shildon,
so there's no reason why you can't visit both and have a train ride in between
and follow in the tracks of George and Jem Stephenson, Timothy Hackworth and
the thousands of other people who joined in the festivities in 1825.

(36:42):
Music.
This month, we are shining a light on George Stephenson. Not the world-famous
engineer George Stephenson, often referred to as the father of the railways.
This is the S&DR's very own George Stephenson, who, like the better-known one,

(37:04):
was a Northumbrian, who rose from humble rural beginnings and was celebrated
for his work for the company.
His misfortune was to share a name with the world's most famous engineer,
leading to a continuing confusion of identity. entity.
So let's call them George the Engineer, the famous one, and George the Railway Manager, this one.

(37:25):
At this stage, I'd like to acknowledge the research on George the Manager by
our late friend Brendan Boyle.
You can read his article in full by downloading a free copy of The Globe for
December 2020 from the Friends' website.
George the Railway Manager was born in the village of Glanton near Wooler on
the 19th of December 1807, so he was 26 years younger than George the Engineer.

(37:50):
Glanton was a Presbyterian village with a Presbyterian school,
and George presumably attended the village school, and his subsequent career
suggests he received a sound education.
He was said to have remained a churchman all his life. This all becomes terribly
relevant, as we shall see.
George had found his way south to the Darlington area by the 1830s,

(38:11):
and in May 1834, at the age of 26, he married 23-year-old Anne Hadrick at Aycliffe.
Anne's father ran Aycliffe Mill.
George did not come directly to work on the expanding Stockton and Downton Railway,
but was employed as a servant.
His employer seemed to have been Henry Pascoe Smith, a Cornish-born lawyer who
had just bought Halgarth and nearby Coatham-Mundeville.

(38:33):
Smith was a director of railway companies associated with the S&DR,
including the Great North of England and the Bishop Auckland and Weardale,
and he soon found George employment with the S&DR. are.
George's first railway job was in 1835 as a plate layer, but by 1839 he was a
clerk in the company's railway coach office in Darlington, in a position of modest seniority.

(38:54):
A letter of complaint from a junior colleague suggests that he could be overbearing.
The June 1841 census recorded George still a clerk by himself in one of five
dwellings, three occupied by railway families, at what the enumerator described as Railway Station.
At that date, it is likely that this was the former merchandising station built

(39:16):
1826-7 but subsequently converted
into Railway Workers' Accommodation and Passenger Station in 1833.
George and Anne had four children by 1846 when George was still recorded by
the parish as a clerk in the railway office.
By March 1847, however, a directory was describing him as Superintendent for the railway.

(39:37):
And the family's home was now said to be Railway Cottage, a large detached property
in its own grounds just north of the railway on North Road.
So his post was clearly regarded as a senior managerial one.
A year later, at the age of 39, he was listed in another directory as Station
Master and the 1851 centres confirmed his occupation as Station Master and his

(39:59):
abode as Railway Cottage.
He was Station Master at North Road Station for just a few years before being
promoted to the role of passenger superintendent.
Then in 1854, he succeeded to responsibility also for the railway's goods movements.
In other words, he became the
manager of both goods and passenger traffic for the whole S&DR network,

(40:20):
His office was probably at the goods agent's offices and what was later named
MacNay Street and his home at nearby Railway Cottage.
It was in the role of manager of goods and passengers that George emerged in
1860 from behind his desk to make a very public contribution to the national
debate on temperance and the prohibition of alcohol.
He'd been asked by the grandson of the other father of the railways,

(40:43):
Edward Pease, also called Edward, this one just 26 years old,
for his views on the sale of drink at railway stations.
Young Pease was greatly interested in the temperance cause, which had spread
from America to Britain by the mid-19th century, the earliest UK temperance
societies being apparently inspired by a Presbyterian minister.

(41:03):
And Stevenson was happy to set out his knowledge of the evolving policies of
the S&DR in a letter which Pease forwarded to the Times and copied to other
newspapers throughout the land.
It would be fair to say that he was not in favour of combining alcohol with
driving or riding on a train.
Here is his letter in full, read by actor Lee Morris.

(41:25):
Stockton and Darlington Railway Manager's Office Goods and Passenger Department,
Darlington, September 6th Dear Sir, You ask for my opinion as to the effects
of selling drink at railway stations.
To this I can unhesitatingly reply, the effects are most pernicious.
Delicious on this subject i can speak from

(41:46):
experience for the Stockton and Darlington railway company since
i became acquainted with it 25 years ago has
had fair trial of both sides of the question in
the days of the stagecoach travelling it was universal custom to book passengers
at inns and when the first railway was opened the stations were not considered
complete without a portion of it being set apart for the sale of drink consequently

(42:09):
full provision for supplying this kind of refreshment was made at every station on the line.
This arrangement, which was at first considered an absolute necessity,
continued in force for several years, and this gave us ample opportunity of
witnessing the effect of that side of the question.
These effects may be summed up in a few words.

(42:30):
The temptation to drink being placed so prominently before the company's servants
led to habits of drinking among them and consequently neglected duty.
Porters were treated by passengers and sometimes got to think more of their drink than their work.
Cases of drunkenness occurred among passengers which would not if drink had

(42:51):
been so easily obtainable.
Delay of trains not infrequently happened in order to give opportunities for
obtaining this refreshment.
We had greater liability to accidents, which were of too frequent occurrence,
together with all the annoyance and inconvenience of having men to do the work
who were not always to be depended upon.
All these, results being fully demonstrated by experience, led to the ultimate

(43:14):
abolition of drink from the railway stations.
Although a pecuniary point of view, it appeared a sacrifice.
The duty to abolish the traffic became so apparent that the directors could
no longer hesitate to make the change. It is now some years since this was done,
and I am happy to say we never yet had cause to regret it.
There is not now a station on this, the oldest line in the kingdom,

(43:37):
where intoxicating drinks are sold, and I hope that this state of things will ever continue.
I am not aware that any other railway company has adopted this plan,
but I am satisfied that if all railway companies were to do away with the sale
of drinks at their stations, they would be best consulting the interests of
shareholders and the welfare of the travelling public.
There is no question but that much property and many valuable lives are annually

(44:01):
sacrificed through drink, and therefore everything that we can possibly do should
be done to lessen the facilities for obtaining it.
I am every day more convinced that, if we want to prevent drunkenness,
we must remove the temptation to drink out of the way.
If a railway company allows drink to be sold at their stations,
they ought not to be surprised if some of the men occasionally get intoxicated and neglect their duty.

(44:24):
And when we consider that the slightest inattention of the engine men or guard,
pointsmen or signalmen might be productive of these most fearful consequences,
it seems impossible to take too much precaution.
By removing the temptation to drink as far away as possible,
we adopt one great means of keeping a sober set of men.
That such has been the result, I am perfectly satisfied and have no doubt that

(44:48):
if all railway companies would follow the example.
What is interesting about this anti-drink tirade is that he acknowledges that
drink was a vital part of every early station.
Indeed, the first S&DR building to become a railway station as we know it did

(45:10):
in fact originate as a railway tavern located next to the depots,
a cliff lane also known as Heighington Station.
The S&DR company certainly frowned upon excessive drinking by their engine men and other staff.
On the 14th of October 1825, when Thomas Close was contracted to run the first
horse-drawn passenger coach, he was informed that the first time he is seen
intoxicated, he will be dismissed and the sum due to his wages shall be forfeited.

(45:34):
And on the 24th of October 1828, James Stevenson, remember him from the last
podcast, engineer George's older brother, was fined £2 for being intoxicated
when going with his engine on the 22nd Inst.
On 20 October 1829, at the licensing appeal,
solicitor Francis Mewburn stated that the company were very strict over the

(45:58):
conduct of all their servants on the whole line of the railway,
keeping a police officer to preserve order and regularity amongst the workmen,
fining under the powers of their Act of Parliament, such as infringed any of
their bylaws and inspecting the public houses already on the railway to see
that they did not encourage the workmen.

(46:18):
But it wasn't just workmen. George was also supporting the idea of prohibiting
passengers from drinking at stations.
George doesn't say when drink was abolished from the S&DR stations other than
it was some years before 1860.
Charles Nicholson, writing in the early 1900s, suggested that it was the early
1840s when experience and temperance education led the company to change their views.

(46:42):
Such timing could explain the disappearance of the in-function from the station
at Aycliffe Lane, Heighington.
The last reference to the Aycliffe Lane station's part uses and then was in April
1835 when the S&DR sought quotations to paint the company's properties between
Aycliffe and Fighting Cocks.
It was then called Aycliffe Lane Inn but by January 1840 the company's minutes

(47:06):
were calling the building Aycliffe Lane station.
So, the sale of alcohol from this particular station appears to have ended in
the late 1830s. Other stations will have soon followed suit.
Company regulations issued on 28th March 1842 contain a suggestion that all
may have ceased even by then, as drink-deprived train drivers were apparently
having to seek refreshment elsewhere.

(47:27):
Gatekeepers were instructed to report all engine men stopping at public houses
or otherwise neglecting their duty.
George remained in the same senior managerial post for many years,
its importance increasing with the growth in the network and continuing after
the amalgamation of the S&DR with the North Eastern Railway Company in 1863.
The amalgamation agreement actually gave the S&DR management considerable independence

(47:51):
for the first 10 years, with Georgie's job title becoming Goods and Traffic Manager
of the Darlington section of the NER.
His responsibilities extended a lot further than the original S&DR line and
went as far as Penrith in Cumbria to Loftus in Cleveland. He had under his control
the Gisborough, Battersby, Richmond, Stanhope, Middleton, Benfieldside and Tebay
lines, making a total of more than 200 miles.

(48:14):
During the 1860s, his home railway cottage was replaced on its north road plot
by a new house for the Stephenson family with the name Gloucester Villa.
George continued to cite this as his place of abode for Darlington elections until 1879,
even though sometime between spring 1871 and the beginning of 1873,

(48:34):
he and his family moved to Castle Hill in rural Middleton-One-Row.
He appears to have retained the tenancy of the villa, not only for voting eligibility,
but as a home for his youngest son, John Hadrick.
Although Gloucester Villa in Darlington has now been demolished,
one of its gateposts still survives on Bonomi Way.
You'll see the word house on one side and villa on the other,

(48:57):
evidence of a possible name change or upgrade.
Move to the countryside may have been prompted by desire for cleaner air.
By the early 1870s, he had not only worked but lived alongside the increasingly
smoky and dirty railway for three decades.
His health was certainly poor by the summer of 1878 as the Northern Echo reported
that he had been taken suddenly ill for a few days with dangerous symptoms.

(49:21):
He recovered sufficiently to resume working and was a regular commuter from Fighting Cock station.
Notwithstanding his illness, he clearly had no intention of retiring from the railway.
But his illness caught up with him eventually and after lingering for seven
months, he died on the 11th of November 1881, aged 73.

(49:42):
The Darlington and Stockton Times recorded that for a long time the deceased
gentleman had been suffering from chest infection,
asthma and a complication of diseases which incapacitated him from taking that
active part in the duties of the world to which he had, during a long life, been accustomed.
The Northern Echo appears to be referring to lung disease.

(50:05):
The newspapers carried fulsome reports of George's life story,
his death and his funeral, a huge one even by Victorian standards.
He was clearly well known and no ordinary Railwayman, even in a town dominated by that industry.
His last journey saw the horse-drawn hearse and family carriages travel the
six miles from Middleton One Row to Darlington's West Cemetery.
As it passed St John's Church on the east side of town, it was joined by many

(50:28):
gentlemen, together with a large number of carriages.
The eulogies described him as the oldest railway manager in the world,
with nearly half a century of experience of railways and the last of the officials
connected with the famous line in its early years.
The birth, growth and development of the railway into its present gigantic proportions,
all coming within the compass of his lengthy life.

(50:51):
As for his character, although with his ready tongue he could strike hard and
sure, it was without personal animus.
And to the humblest and highest, he was always the same. He never passed a railwayman
without a pleasant, cheery word of recognition or pointed inquiry as to his duties.
He rarely overlooked details, especially those affecting the safe and efficient working of the railway.
Though never prominent in politics, he was always on the liberal side at the

(51:15):
right time, according to the obituaries.
The respect in which he was held was evident in the funeral procession,
described as one of the largest ever seen in Darlington.
Every grade, from director down to the humblest official, was represented in its sad line.
It included most of the leading inhabitants, railway officials,

(51:36):
heads of departments and station masters on the different lines under Mr Stephenson's management.
After the superintendents of the railway police came the workmen from the carriage
works of the North Eastern Railway, Porters and signalmen, engineers,
mineral and other railway officials Passengers and goods agents,
clerks and other departments The management office staff at Darlington The principal

(52:01):
officers of the company District goods managers,
superintendents and directors of the railway An immense mass of spectators had
gathered to see the funeral And as it passed through the streets A total suspension
of traffic and business took place Most of the tradesmen on the road had closed their shutters.
A profound silence prevailed, broken only by the melancholy sounds of the bell in the clock tower.

(52:27):
The streets were lined all the way to the outskirts of the town.
Music.

(53:03):
Given the seniority of George Stephenson and his increasing ill health and likely
forthcoming retirement when the streets were being named here,
it's likely that the Stephenson Street opposite Hopetown is named after him and
not engineer George Stephenson, who had very little to do with the S&DR after 1825.
When Brendan published his research into George Stephenson, he had a suggestion to make.

(53:23):
To avoid the confusion over which George Stephenson the street is named after,
an explanatory nameplate could be erected with brief biographical details below
the street name, such as George Stephenson, 1807-81,
worker and senior manager on the S&DR and NER, 1835-1881.
So, to everyone recovering from getting Hopetown up and ready,

(53:46):
here's another job for you. Brendan would be chuffed.
Tales from the Rails. Steaming ahead to 2025.
So, what's this month's news? Well, Hopetown in Darlington is now open,
but you know that already.
The railway line that runs over the Skerne Bridge in Darlington was closed

(54:09):
on the 12th of July for eight hours so that contractors working for Network
Rail could remove vegetation from Skerne Bridge.
This is damaging the structure and it makes it look rather unkempt.
The vegetation was strimmed off, but it's not clear if it's also been poisoned.
Sadly, the graffiti has not been removed either. there.
We all want our rail heritage structures to look their best,

(54:30):
not just for 2025, but always.
So let's hope there's more to come at the Skerne Bridge, because we're all a
wee bit disappointed at the moment.
The Globe for July 2024 has now been published and circulated to Friends of the S&DR.
If you'd like to see it, you need to join. If you've asked for a hard copy,
it will take a little longer while it gets printed.
There are articles on Timothy Hackworth's contract with the S&DR,

(54:52):
the S&DR plaques on the Barnard Castle branch, another on the Gaunless Bridge,
a report on excavations at Yarm Branch Line and quite a long new section,
inevitable as we sting ahead to 2025.
Area groups continue to keep sections of the S&DR neat and tidy.
Darlington Borough Council have also increased the size of litter bins near
the Skerne Bridge and moved them away from the bridge.

(55:13):
The Fighting Cocks Group are restoring the former waiting shed at the level crossing
and opposite the former station.
Why not drop by and lend them a hand?
The Friends of the Stockton and Darlington Railway and Middleton St George Parish
Council have planned working parties to clear vegetation, debris,
litter pitting etc and maintain the rights of way.
Anyone interested in coming along and helping with any of the above will be welcome.

(55:34):
Please wear suitable clothing and footwear. Gloves are advisable.
Please bring any suitable gardening tools with you as well.
Now if you don't actually want to do any physical work you're more than welcome
to go along to those maintenance work parties and bring some supplies for the workers.
Tea, coffee, biscuits, bacon sandwiches etc are all very welcome or just come
along and say hello and see what they're up to.

(55:57):
The dates for the next working parties are Friday the 9th and 30th of August
from half one to three in the afternoon and Friday 6th and 20th of September
again from half one to three in the afternoon.
More progress is being made in installing an S&DR walking and cycling route,
mostly in County Durham at the moment.
Consultations have also taken place on the design for the new decking that is

(56:20):
going in place between the surviving bridge abutments at the Gaunless Bridge
near St Helens, Auckland. We went to the consultation event of that.
What did you think of the design now?
The bridge itself, I think, looks pretty good. It's in a corten steel,
but it's got design which sort of replicates and references the lenticular trusses
which Stephenson put in, which you can see at the Locomotion Museum.

(56:41):
I think the thing we were a bit surprised and disappointed by is the height.
It has to float over the top of the original abutments for a whole load of different
complicated legal reasons.
Yeah, but it is an attractive bridge though, so I really look forward to seeing it.
The current plan at the moment is that it will actually be in place by the end of March.
Now that some of the S&DR paths are in place, the next Friends Walk booklet

(57:02):
to be updated and revised will be out very soon covering Shildon to Heighington.
This 48-page whopper has been sponsored by Husqvarna, a large international
business based alongside the route at Newton Aycliffe.
You might know them for their robotic lawnmowers.
The booklet's been beautifully designed by Maud Webster and contains lots of
pictures and QR codes that allow you to scan them to access more detailed information.

(57:27):
And for the first time, we also have audio scans so you can listen to Robert
Metcalf recount his memories of getting the boiler lit on Locomotion No.1.
He's long dead, of course, but his voice has been provided by Darlington-based actor Lee Morris.
He's a regular contributor to our podcast and you heard him today as George
Stephenson, the manager.

(57:47):
The public premiere of Iron and Steam, the dawn of the Stockton and Darlington
Railway, took place at Hopetown on the 25th of July.
This film was a Lonely Tower Film and Media production and is supported by Barclays
UK, inheritors of the S&DR Bankers Back Houses, Stockton Borough Council,
Darlington Borough Council and Durham County Council and a part of the S&DR 200 Festival.

(58:08):
If you didn't see it, there may be more chances in the future and you can follow
Lonely Tower Film and Media on Facebook book or email them at [e-mail].
Clearance work has taken place by Network Rail at the site of the 1826-7 merchandising
station site in Darlington.
This is located on North Road opposite Hopetown.

(58:29):
The station itself was demolished in 1864.
Most recently, it tends just to get used for fly tipping by what the S&DR would
have called 'evil disposed persons'.
Now that the area has been cleared, some things are clear.
First, ground levels are still quite high in here, which means possibly more
clearance work required, but it could also mean that we have significant archaeological

(58:51):
deposits here relating to the world's first railway goods station.
Second, the internal and external walls of the original station appear to be visible.
These internal walls coincide with the position of the large arches you can
see in the early images of it. This is very exciting.
Hopefully we can do some interesting investigative archaeological work before

(59:13):
too long and organise some attractive landscaping on the site.
The Friends are organising a walking festival as part of the S&DR 200 Fringe Festival.
Can you help us coordinate it and publicise it? If so, please get in touch.
We'll be offering training to anyone likely to lead a guided walk on the S&DR
on behalf of the Friends in 2024 and 2025.
If that's you, again, please do get in touch.

(59:36):
There was an unforeseen consequence of the general election.
Once it was announced by Rishi Sunak, the Community Grant Fund was closed down.
This was the fund that the Friends of the S&DR had spent considerable time putting
together a grant application to help us with our Save Heighington Station campaign.
With this one decision, we've lost
the opportunity for £400,000 worth of funding. So that's the bad news.

(59:59):
But there is a little bit of good news in that we have been offered £90,000
from the Rail Heritage Trust.
This is a result from a bequest made to the Trust which they are passing to
us. This is super news and a real lifeline.
This combined with the donations made by various individuals and other charities,
including the Headley Trust, means that we have exceeded our target in getting match funding.

(01:00:20):
We just need to find another source of the original £400,000 we were asking
for from the Community Ownership Fund.
Let us know if you can help, and if you know a millionaire who loves trains
or history, please do put them in touch.
The next clear-up day at Heighington Station Goods Yard is on the 27th of July at 10.30 to 12.15pm.
So if you're not listening to this podcast, do turn up there,

(01:00:42):
bring heavy-duty gloves, gardening tools and sturdy boots. Why not go there by train?
Still at Heighington, we've been really lucky to benefit from the expertise of Kittywake Digital.
This company normally does the special effects for films, TV and adverts.
Think Bridgerton, Marvel, Kingsman, Bond movies. beats.
Gentlemen in Moscow and Good Omens. But on July the 13th to the 14th,

(01:01:05):
they abandoned Hollywood and said hello to Heighington.
They've laser scanned Heighington station for us, including a drone survey,
so that we will have a full 3D interactive model of the building inside and out.
While this gives us the ability to create fly-throughs, recreate Georgian rooms
and use it for films in the short term, it has created data that can be turned
into detail floor plans,

(01:01:25):
elevation plans, cross-sections, all the things we'll need to help come up with
new proposals and plans for the building and the necessary consents to carry them out.
The survey is so detailed we can now look inside the building without actually going there.
A huge thank you to our friends Duncan and Jandira for their time and expertise.
They did this for us because they want our campaign to save Heighington Station to succeed.
You fancy doing a spot of creative writing? Write on Track is an exciting local

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project directly linked to the bicentenary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
It's supported by S&DR, Community Grant Scheme and Creative Darlington.
Local writers have got together to organise a series of free writing workshops,
all based in venues along the original 26 mile inaugural route.
Workshops at Darlington, Preston Park near Stockton, locomotion at Shildon and

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even on a Bishop Line train.
There'll be the chance to discover the history along the way by visiting significant
sites and using resourcing and artefacts from Darlington local studies and museums.
You can also explore your own memories of stations, holiday travelling,
commuting, working on the railways, train spotting, any connection at all to trains.

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In the workshops, we'll be looking at how you might express this history or
memories in a poem, a short story or a piece of life writing.
You might not think of yourself as a writer, but everyone has stories to tell
about trains and railways.
So that's what we're hoping you'll share.
You can come to one workshop or all 11 and they're all free.

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You just need to book your spot.
Workshops start at the end of July and will run until September 2024.
I'll be running the workshop on Women of the S&DR at the Sunday School building
at Locomotion in Shildon on the 15th of August from 11am to 1pm.
Get in touch via the Friends website or look out for posts on our Facebook page to find out more.

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It's the summer holidays now and there are lots of activities throughout August
for children, all to do with the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
On Saturday the 3rd of August, the Weardale Book Fair at St Thomas's Church
Hall in Stanhope is taking place where it's a chance to have a look at not just
the books but to meet the authors who wrote them.
I'll be there with Little Loco's Big Day and other Stockton and Darlington Railway

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books so come and meet me and other local authors and grab a coffee and a cake while you're there.
On Wednesday the 7th of August it's Darlington Library Takeover Day in the centre of Darlington.
That's on between 11 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon.
I'll be there again with Little the Loco's Big Day and in particular I'll be

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doing readings and activities between 12 and 1pm.
On the 11th of August I'll be at Weardale Wordfest Story Train,
be lots of children's stories and their authors all at Stanhope Station.
Little Loco will be there with lots of activities at 11 o'clock.
On the 14th of August at 11am I'll be doing book readings and Little Loco activities

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at Hopetown and again at 2pm on Monday the 19th of August.
And finally, on the 20th of August, it will be the Stockton and Darlington Railway
Takeover Day in the centre of Darlington.
Details of this have still to be announced, but it's on in the town centre of
Darlington between 11 in the morning and 4 in the afternoon.

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Well, that's it for another month. We hope you now fancy a trip to Hopetown
or Locomotion, two major visitor attractions worthy of the international significance of the S&DR.
And we hope that we've shone a light on George Stephenson, the manager,
and the still topical issue of drinking alcohol on trains.
Do take a note of the S&DR 200 festival fringe dates for 2025.
That's 29th of March until November 2025.

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But also start planning what you can do for 2025 and get your events listed
in the S&DR 200 Fringe Programme.
Some places along the route of the S&DR are already working on a programme of
local events, such as Middleton St George.
Others are yarn bombing their village green bollards with knitted steam locomotives.
There are lots of things to be done to help commemorate our railway heritage,

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whether you're a clever craftsperson, a local business, or you have a miniature
railway or rolling stock.
The email to contact anyone to do with the Festival Fringe events,
hence the S&DR Community Grant Scheme or Youth Education Programme is info at sdr200.co.uk.
Thank you once again to everyone who has been involved in getting Hopetown ready,

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not just for 2025, but for the summer of 2024.
Well done, all of you. Thank you also to Niall for covering for Archie and get well soon, Archie.
Right, who's for a coffee at the Clocktower Cafe at Hopetown? Cleo's got her paw up.
Music.