This summer marks the 200th anniversary of the opening of the world’s first steam railway, the Stockton & Darlington railway, which opened in 1825. It seemed a highly appropriate time then, to visit Hopetown in Darlington, which aims to help visitors to discover the story of invention, ideas and engineering in Darlington and which this year is naturally hosting a festival, celebrating the birth of the modern railway, from March to November 2025
Hopetown Museum
Hopetown uses the site of the old North Road railway station in Darlington to imaginatively recreate the story of how the railways began in the town 200 years ago and how Darlington and the North East might also play a major role in the development of the railways of the future.
Our journey begins with the campaign to get the Stockton and Darlington railway opened at all, with the partnership of Darlington Quaker Edward Pease and Wylam engineering genius George Stephenson. Indeed, while we are told how difficult the task was, we are also informed that, “(Edward Pease) was eminently qualified to undertake what appeared to many the desperate enterprise of obtaining an Act of Parliament to construct a railway.” Many of the investors were Quakers, who were trusted, and indeed Darlington was known as a Quaker town.
There were two sides in the argument. In favour of the railway were the mine owners and merchants who wanted the railway as they thought it would benefit them and the local people.
They thought that they would be able to sell coal at a cheaper rate and move more of it and more quickly. They were also certain that they would get a return and that even if only part of the coal trade used the new railway, it would be a success.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side, other landowners were against the new railway. Unsurprisingly, so were people who had invested in new toll roads.
They said that it would go through valuable farmland, which would have to be spilt up, while it would also disturb foxes they hunted. The landowners thought that they wouldn’t be compensated, while the toll road investors thought that it was unfair! The bankers and the merchants only wanted to make money!
Hopetown also features a room with a conversation between George Stephenson and Edward Pease, where Pease talks about a future railway for coal, with horse drawn wagons, but Stephenson persuades him of the potential of steam power, that it could also carry passengers and that the Stockton and Darlington railway would be the start of a new form of transport that would spread around the world.
The main North Road station building also included Experiment! Described by a member of staff as a 4D journey from the beginning of the railways at Darlington all the way to the present and into the future. Unsurprisingly, this was particularly popular with children and young families.
The Carriageworks building was full of interesting railway memorabilia including lamps and signage. It also included a delightful model railway version of the original railway between Stockton and Shildon.
All of this is in the main building which acts as a recreation of what the early North Road station would have been like and as throughout the entire site there are plenty of activities for children and the site certainly did seem popular with young families when I visited.
Meanwhile in the Viewing Gallery, you can see how work is progressing on the building of what will be the country’s biggest steam train the Prince of Wales.
Then, of particular interest to me was a section on trains of the future and tackling climate change as Hitachi, based in the North East have spearheaded the transition from diesel to battery run trains and how the “future of the railway starts here, powering a greener future”.
This was a really interesting section outlining the development of batteries for trains by Hitachi, which will help to make trains greener as the Climate Crisis deepens. I thought that this was a very helpful and a useful reminder that we should be proud of our heritage in the North East while at the same time looking to the future.
Just like Stephenson and Pease did 200 years ago…
This is a great museum to visit and somewhere that can remind us of our heritage, while also pointing the way to the future.
Entry is free and for more information about Hopetown and how to book free tickets please see here.
