The Stockton & Darlington Railway opened on the 27th September 1825. This was the start of the modern railway network that went on to cover the rest of the UK and the world.

The 26-mile-long mainline was located in North-East England in the historic County of Durham. It ran from the coal mines near Witton Park to the River Tees at Stockton, via Darlington and Yarm where there were two branch lines. Within the next five years it had an additional three branch lines at Croft, Haggerleases and Middlesbrough. Over the following decades, as railways spread across the world, the S&DR also expanded its network of tracks reaching as far as Barnard Castle, Tebay, Redcar, Saltburn and Weardale. It was amalgamated with the North Eastern Railway in 1863.

This is the story of the railway that got the world on track. Join us, as we build up a head of steam for 2025 and the 200th anniversary of the start of the modern railway network.