Update Friday 26 September 2025

200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway

Tomorrow, Saturday 27 September, marks the commemoration of the biggest day in railway history of the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825, 200 years ago. This event represents the opening of the world’s first real commercial railway. Courtesy of Petroc Trelawny of BBC Radio 3, who is travelling down from Inverness to London Kings Cross tomorrow stopping at Darlington on “The Highland Chieftain” special train, I have been informed of this important date and event. 

In the late 1960s before I became a student, I moved to Stockton-on-Tees by train from London Kings Cross changing trains at Darlington to start a training course at ICI’s giant works next door to Stockton at a place called Billingham. I had a wonderful time there both at work and occasionally travelling back and forth to Kings Cross on Deltic diesel hauled trains. On two occasions, as a second class passenger, I travelled to and from Darlington in the Tees-Tyne Pullman in wonderful Chocolate and Cream Mark1 Coaches mounted on Commonwealth Bogies. Billingham, and the adjacent ICI works on the south side of the Tees river in Yorkshire Wilton Works then comprised then the biggest single chemical works in the world. ICI being at that time was Britain’s biggest company. It has now sadly completely disappeared due to successive incompetent management.

Both Billingham and Wilton have been broken up by the demise of ICI and many of the big chemical plants have been closed and more are expected to follow this path as a result of fragmentation. However, the wonderful station canopies at both Stockton and Darlington railway stations have survived and both stations are still preserved as impressive creations of past glories of the two towns. 

In my days at both Billingham and Wilton, there were huge railway sidings with numerous grey hopper wagons carrying coal and coke to the sites as well as tank wagons bringing and taking away chemical products. The only locomotives I can remember working on the works sites were green English Electric Type 3 diesel electrics later to become Class 37s. I remember my days at Stockton with great fondness for the kindness and hospitality I received from everyone both at work and in town. 

TRADE SHOW

Mark Show: The Village Hall, Vole Road, Mark, Somerset TA9 4NY 

Saturday 11 October 2025

Mark is a Scale 7 show but well worth attending if you would like to see high quality locomotives running on a track. IF YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT COMING PLEASE CHECK THE M4/M5 AND M32 FOR CLOSURES THAT WEEKEND. 

 

 

John Borkowski/26 September 2025.