Celebrating 200 Years Of The Stockton & Darlington Railway
Join us at Kirkby Stephen East to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Stockton & Darlington Railway. With its historic roots in the S&DR, Stainmore Railway Company is the perfect location to honour this milestone in railway history.
History Of The Stockton & Darlington
Delve into the Stockton & Darlington Railway's fascinating, yet often untold, history west of the Pennines.
Bicentenary Celebrations
Join us as we celebrate 200 years of the Stockton & Darlington Railway with a grand reunion of surviving artefacts, travelling photo exhibition, and other special attractions.
The Rebirth Of Kirkby Stephen East
Learn how a group of volunteers saved the 1861 building from demolition and created a unique survivor of the S&DR.
Purpose
Honouring the long lasting legacy of the
S&D West of the Pennines.
In September 2025, we will celebrate the bicentenary of the opening of the Stockton & Darlington Railway (S&DR). Since that famous day in September 1825, there have been celebrations of the 50th , 100th & 150th anniversaries of opening in 1875, 1925 & 1975 respectively
However, the S&DR system was far more than a railway between Shildon, Darlington & Stockton, it operated as far west as Furness and West Cumberland, yet this part of the S&DR story has essentially been completely ignored in all previous celebrations.
In early 2023, a successful application was made to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for a project entitled ‘West Side Story – the forgotten history of the Stockton & Darlington Railway in Cumberland, Westmorland & Furness’.
The purpose of this website, along with the associated Facebook page and blog is not to repeat the history of the S&DR system in the North-East which is extensively covered elsewhere but, instead, (i) to tell the story of operations by the S&DR, and its successors, west of the Pennines and (ii) to outline all the other various capital and activity aspects of the project taking place over the next 2½ years.
The Event
Celebrating the grand bicentenary
In August 2025 the Stainmore Railway Company, based at the site of the 1861 built Kirkby Stephen East Station, plan to host a grand event to celebrate 200 years of the Stockton and Darlington Railway - the world's first public railway to use steam locomotives.
More information to follow soon on the event page.
Get in touch
Telephone: 017683 71700
E-mail: kseonlineshop@gmail.com
Address: Station Yard, Kirkby Stephen, CA17 4LA, Cumbria, United Kingdom
