Surprisingly, the weather 200 years ago obliged, with the Durham County Advertiser describing it as “propitious”, which is just as well given that the vast majority of the reported 533 train passengers were seated in open wagons.
There was, though, one covered coach on the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR), the world’s first public rail service, on September 27, 1825. That coach, named The Experiment and the precursor to today’s train carriages, was reserved for the railway’s owners.
The success of the S&DR triggered rail-mania in Victorian-era Britain, and much of today’s network has its origins in that time. It is still possible to travel between northeast England’s Stockton and Darlington by public train, and the line follows much of the route from 200 years ago, even making use of the 1825 Skerne Bridge, now a grade one listed building.
A Locomotion No 1 replica has been featuring in the Stockton and Darlington Railway’s 200th anniversary festivities. Photo: Getty Images
Hundreds of railway companies sprang up and at its peak, just before World War I, the network traversed 37,720km of Britain. Many never made money and in 1923, the networks were grouped together to create the Big Four.
After World War II, the railways were in a poor state and were nationalised in 1948. Closures peaked in the 1960s, Dr Richard Beeching having been appointed by the government to make the railways financially viable, and today just 15,849km of track remains.
With such decimation, and the low esteem in which British railways are now held, there might appear little reason to celebrate Railway 200, a year-long campaign commemorating the anniversary of the modern railway. However, the train has shaped the development of Britain and there are great experiences still to be had, many on heritage lines that were cut by Beeching but are being restored.The world’s oldest railway
Tanfield Railway has its origins in transporting coal. Photo: Shutterstock