THIS IS THE STORY of a man who worked on the Stockton and Darlington Railway during its first decade and a half of operation. He was not an investor, an engineer or a bridge-designer, but nor was he one of the labouring masses.

Percival Tully was his name, and his story may shed light on history from a fresh direction: a human tale of the railway, and its impact on people’s lives.

Unusually for those days, Percival – evidently educated, a good administrator and trustworthy – was kept on by the S&DR Company for year after year and his name popped up at some significant times. But, as they say in cheap novels, then something happened and his life completely changed…