S&DR200 Festival
Saturday 27 September 2025 marks the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR), which gave birth to the modern railway.
The 26-mile journey on the S&DR between Shildon and Stockton via Darlington on 27 September 1825 transformed how the world traded, travelled, and communicated.
To celebrate the 200th anniversary, the nine-month S&DR200 Festival will take place across County Durham and the Tees Valley from March to November 2025. It will celebrate the region’s pioneering past and look forward to its future with a series of free large-scale outdoor spectacles, events, exhibitions and new art commissions in public spaces, libraries, and world-class museums.
Programme highlights
All Change opening event
Bishop Auckland
Saturday 29 March 2025
Travel through time and place, as imitating the dog and SKYMAGIC bring their distinctive combination of technology, live performance, and drone show to a celebration of the bold innovation, creative thinking and ingenuity that led to the world-changing opening of the S&DR.
This unique show will freewheel through time from the spark of an idea to the early locomotives, which powered the world into a new era. A story which moved people then, today and into the future.
Railway Pioneers
Hopetown Darlington
Friday 4 April - Sunday 22 June 2025
An exhibition looking at the engineering innovation that inspired Stephenson, the father of the railways, leading to the opening of Stockton & Darlington Railway in 1825. The exhibition looks at the inspiration of those involved, how it developed and what inspired them. This is an exhibition for those interested in trains or those interested in the stories behind them. Three iconic locomotives will be on display:
- Pen-y-Darren, designed by Richard Trevithick, 1804
- Steam Elephant, designed by John Buddle and William Chapman, 1815
- Locomotion No. 1, designed and driven by George Stephenson on the first S&DR journey, 1825
Loans from National Railway Museum, Beamish, Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales, IMechE
Funding Arts Council England
With thanks to National Railway Museum, The Story, Durham Archives, National Archives, Common Room, IMechE
Ghost Train
Darlington 20 September 2025
Stockton 28 September 2025
Two major outdoor events inspired by the Stockton and Darlington Railway story.
The first features a procession through Darlington, showcasing large-scale art installations representing pivotal modern inventions.
The following week, in Stockton town centre, a spectacular theatrical reimagining will commemorate the historic arrival of Locomotion No. 1 into Stockton harbour in 1825, marking the birth of the modern railway.
Co-produced by Avanti Display and Walk the Plank, from a creative concept developed by Andy Plant, Bill Palmer, Bryan Tweddle and Chris Squire.
STEAM to the future
Hopetown Darlington
Friday 11 July - Sunday 5 October 2025
An exhibition reflecting on the history of steam railways and how the rail industry is gearing up for a second revolution driven by the growing green technologies sector in Teesside. It will feature an immersive installation by A.A.Murakami (AKA Studio Swine), inspired by steam as a source of power, and the chance to create a train for the 22nd century using virtual reality software.
Our railway contributors are looking to the future and this is a glimpse into just some of the work that is underway to ensure the railways continue for another 200 years.
Railway contributors: Hitachi, Network Rail & LNER
A Memorable Journey
Various locations throughout 2025
A mass-participation art project for visitors to festival venues, school children, care home residents and communities across the region.
The public will be asked to reflect on a personal memorable journey and use that as inspiration to decorate a small wooden doll.
These will be installed at a venue at the end of the festival and photographed, digitised, and archived, to represent a snapshot of travel memories.
Anniversary Celebration
Saturday 27 September 2025
A newly renovated replica of Locomotion No. 1, the passenger carriage 'Experiment' and coal waggons will run on sections of the original S&DR line over three days. Spectators will be able to see the train at designated locations and enjoy an accompanying programme of special events organised along the route. We are working with partners Network Rail and LNER on the Anniversary Celebration.
Held across Friday 26 - Sunday 28 September, but in Darlington on 27 September.
The S&DR Discovery Trail
From June 2025
A new public walk and cycling path, tracing the original 26-mile-route of the Stockton & Darlington Railway between Witton Park and Stockton. Along the marked path, users will find:
- Important heritage buildings, including Heighington and Aycliffe Railway Station, the world's first train platform, and Skerne Bridge, the oldest railway bridge in continuous use
- A series of new murals and artworks* (see next entry titled ‘public art commissions’)
- A new interactive accessible treasure hunt game, created by Teesside University company Tucan and voiced by Steph McGovern, which enables players both on the trail and digitally to collect knowledge about the 26-mile route, the trains that travelled on them and the areas of beauty they sit in. This game will include live podcasts, augmented reality where you can see elements of the line and how they worked, and the ability to collect tokens to build locomotives and create a digital cavalcade. This game is accessible to all and will also tie in some of the physical murals and public art along the way
*Curated by David Sinclair, S&DR200 has commissioned a series of murals along the route as part of the S&DR Discovery Trail, created by both international and local artists. These artworks celebrate the significance of the S&DR200 anniversary, focusing on themes of momentum, the community - past and present - and the rich history of the Stockton & Darlington Railway.
Thanks to the support of partners, including the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic England, and Railway Heritage Trust, these murals not only mark the route but also actively engage the communities surrounding this historic track and will do so for years beyond 2025. The murals will also feature prominently in the accompanying game and trail, enriching the experience for participants.
The Centenary Procession 1925 by British Rail.
