The Stockton & Darlington Railway Company Ltd (trading as the Railway Station) 

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Historic England Right a Wrong

Historic England Right a Wrong

The Stockton & Darlington Railway’s Railway Tavern was built in 1826-7 to serve business customers using the adjacent railway depot at the terminus of the Darlington branch line. It is one of the earliest railway taverns in the country and therefore in the world....

On this day (6th June) in 1857….

On this day (6th June) in 1857….

On the 6th June 1857, the foundation stone was laid for the plinth to display Locomotion No.1 outside North Road Station in Darlington. As the Stockton & Darlington Railway network grew, it was becoming clear to the S&DR pioneers that the role of the S&DR...

On this day (6th June) in 1857….

On this day, the 16th September, 1824…..

On this day, 16th September, in 1824, the S&DR sub-committee ordered two locomotive engines from Robert Stephenson & Co costing £500 each. The first engine was delivered in time for the opening day on the 27th September 1825 and was known as ‘Active’, but...

On this day (6th July) in 1824….

On this day (6th July) in 1824….

On this day (6th July) in 1824, the foundation stone for the Skerne Bridge in Darlington was laid by Francis Mewburn, the Stockton & Darlington Railway Company's solicitor. This was the largest engineered stone-built structure on the line and technically one of...

On this day in 1857…

On this day in 1857…

In 1857, the S&DR Company decided that Locomotion No.1 should be placed on a pedestal outside North Road station. Ceremonies were organised by Thomas MacNay and invitations issued. The foundation stone was laid for the stone pedestal on the 6th June. This is the...

Happy Rail Day!

Happy Rail Day!

On the 23rd May 1822, 200 years ago today, the first rail was ceremonially laid for the S&DR at St. John’s Well in Stockton. It was put in place by Thomas Meynell Esq., who lived at the Friarage in Yarm. He was Chairman of the S&DR Company and led a local band...

Sustainable railway souvenirs

Sustainable railway souvenirs

I was dusting today to avoid editing a report on an S&DR branch line of 1830 (done now I’m pleased to say) and this little pink lustre ware cup was one of the lucky ornaments getting some very rare attention. It reminded me why we set up The Railway Station Shop....

On this day in 1843…

On this day in 1843…

Photo caption: The two houses (there were two doors originally) next to the engine house at Etherley – one for the engine man and his family (Thomas and then John Greener) and the blacksmith and his family next door. The building was sadly demolished in the 1980s

Skew Bridges

Skew Bridges

Have you ever walked beneath a skew bridge? They are beautiful to behold and they look very complicated to build. So what is a skew bridge? This is an early, little known method of constructing bridges to cross an obstacle at an oblique angle or skew instead of at a...

The S&DR: the railway that got the world on track

The S&DR: the railway that got the world on track

So our shop is called the Railway Station, but the company name is the Stockton & Darlington Railway. Of course we are not the original Stockton & Darlington Railway which came into being in 1818 and opened the railway in 1825. That railway was the start of...

Stocking Filler Ideas

Stocking Filler Ideas

Is it OK to mention the ‘C’ word now? We’ve held off because promoting our wares too soon is just rude. However with just over a month to go until you-know-what, it seems fair game to encourage our discerning customers to consider supporting our small business by...

A Ghost Post for Halloween

A Ghost Post for Halloween

There is a tale associated with North Road Station in Darlington of ghostly goings on. In the 1850s a night watchman James Durham had an unforgettable experience. It was ‘during winter, and about 12 o'clock or 12.30, I was feeling rather cold with standing here and...

Tis the season for leaves on the line!

Tis the season for leaves on the line!

Winter is coming and so it's time for tea (leaves), biscuits, chocolate and a steamy book. Luckily we've got all sorts of railway inspired gifts that will see you through winter. Our Flying Scotsman tea, chocolate bars or S&DR biscuits can be bought on their own...

Looking for Rachel Pease

Woman have regularly been written out of history. Any roles they had as child bearer (the most dangerous job, surely) and housekeeper have rarely been considered worthy of documenting or rewarding with words that survive the test of time. Looking for the roles of...

What shall we do with our Dandy Cart?

What shall we do with our Dandy Cart?

Yesterday I was given, on loan by a fellow Friend of the Stockton & Darlington Railway, a heavy metal circular plaque with a central boss of a dandy cart, complete with horse, in relief. We don’t honestly know what it was made for – possibly an apprentice piece....

George Stephenson

George Stephenson

George Stephenson was born in the village of Wylam in Northumberland and brought up in a tiny cottage shared with other families. His parents, who could not read or write, couldn’t afford to send him to school and so he worked as a colliery brakesman. He had also...

Edward Pease (1767-1858)

Edward Pease (1767-1858)

Edward Pease was born on the 31st May 1767 to Joseph Pease and Mary Richardson, prominent Quakers in Darlington. He boarded at school in Leeds and then joined his father in the woollen business at the age of 15. He married Rachel Whitwell from Kendal in 1796. While...

Tribute to a Tea Pot

Tribute to a Tea Pot

In our house, we have two expensive modern teapots. Both drip when the tea is poured leaving papers, biscuits, coasters and tea trays swimming in Yorkshire tea. For Christmas, yours truly was given a LNER silver plated teapot by her doting spouse. This teapot is a...

Happy Birthday Middlesbrough

On the 27th December 1830, the Stockton & Darlington Railway Company formally opened their new port, sometimes referred to as Port Darlington with its associated planned new town of Middlesbrough. The port was opened with a train of passenger coaches and waggons...

Meet the Hackworths

This video has been prepared by the Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway as part of the History and Heritage Festival running between the 23rd October and 1st November 2020. Here is a chance to learn about the Hackworths and their contribution to the...

The Battle for Locomotion No.1

The Battle for Locomotion No.1

You may have seen petitions and newspaper reports about the battle to either keep Locomotion No.1 in Darlington, or to move her 'home' to Locomotion in Shildon. This is an eight minute talk with slides that sets out a few facts before you decide which side of the...

2025 – A Vision

2025 – A Vision

Celebrate in 2025! This week we have seen much about the 195th anniversary of the opening of the Stockton & Darlington Railway. It has been an odd set of celebrations, nearly all online, remote, socially distanced, masked and quiet. But what about 2025 - the 200th...

The Stockton & Darlington Railway’s Gaunless Bridge

The Stockton & Darlington Railway’s Gaunless Bridge

An announcement on the 28th July 2020 by Locomotion, the railway museum in Shildon, that the ironwork for Stephenson’s Gaunless Bridge is due to move from the National Railway Museum in York to Locomotion, is very welcome news.
So here is a little bit more about that innovative and pioneering railway structure – this talk lasts under 9 minutes.

Lesser known railway recipes

Lesser known railway recipes

Our hunt for lesser known railway related recipes continues. Earlier this month we were given a recipe for the Railway Pasty – apparently it was a sweet treat in the lunch boxes of railway workers. Now we have found (OK it was my mother!) a similar recipe for a...

Model steam engine dated 1836

https://www.facebook.com/SDR1825/videos/480265972667250/ This little model engine was built by Thomas Greener in 1836 and can now be seen at the award-winning Brass, Steel and Fire at the National Railway Museum, York, until 13th April and then at the Science Museum,...

Spreading the Word!

Spreading the Word!

Our designer-made silk scarf inspired by Timothy Hackworth’s plugwheel comes beautifully wrapped and complete with an S&DR certificate of authenticity and a Hackworth certificate.

Chuffing good blogs

Chuffing good blogs

The journey is underway. We've got some great blogs coming soon. Look out for a plug for the plugwheel scarf and some advice from a design consultant on fabulous ways to wear them. Interviews with steam specialists, top suppliers and if we are very lucky chocolatiers...

Welcome

Welcome

Welcome to our website and please keep calling back. Our stock is constantly expanding and we will be blogging about events, pop-up shops and forthcoming attractions.

Office Open Hours

Monday – Friday: 9am – 5pm 

Saturday: 9am-12noon

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General: (+44) 7773 195686

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Phone

01833 650233

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The Stockton & Darlington Railway

Barnard Castle

Co. Durham 

DL12 9BP

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