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The Stockton and Darlington Railway celebrates it’s bi-centenary in 2025 and although still ten years away plans are now being made not only to celebrate the occasion but to make sure that the events of nearly 200 years ago are recognised locally, nationally and internationally. Both borough councils as well as Durham County Council and the National Railway Museum have come together to ensure that the railway line receives the recognition it deserves and with the help of the Heritage Lottery Fund a supporting group, the ‘Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway’ has been formed .

The Friends held their first workshop at the NRM Locomotion in Shildon back in June and are holding their second one at Preston Park Museum from 10am on Friday 6 November . As well as workshop discussions there will be an afternoon walk along the original 1825 track-bed which runs through Preston Park and which is the only significant remaining length of the original railway in the Stockton area. The track-bed runs parallel to the busy A135, Yarm Road, and is now the subject of a self-guided walk leaflet available from the museum and which points out the track route, it’s cuts and embankments, sidings and spurs and even a ramp and possible platform, the shape of which is now almost lost among the under growth.

As a precursor to the workshop the Friends arranged two guided walks on the 23 October which were both led by Robin Daniels of Tees Archaeology and who will also lead the November walk too. I went along on the morning walk and was one of a group of fifteen or so people who were keen to know more about this local gem sadly hidden from view by creeping undergrowth and a boundary hedge dividing main road from railway track, indeed a boundary hedge which probably has it’s roots, pun intended, in the original 1825 Preston Hall hedge!

Photographs and details courtesy of David Thompson.

We would like to thank Bruce Coleman who very kindly sent us the following in response to some of the comments on an earlier post ‘Memories of days out at Seaton Carew‘

When I was a child in the early 1950s my Father was a member of the Haverton Hill Working mens Club, every year we had a trip from Billingham to Seaton Carew organised by the club, there were about 5 or six double decker buses full of parents and children each year, we received a packet of sandwiches and two half crowns in a brown envelope, the envelopes had holes in the front and were suspiciously like the Furness Shipyard pay packets, but that was possibly coincidental!, of course the sun always shone and my father and his cronies always disappeared into the Seaton Hotel at the first opportunity, my mother would sit on the beach all day only occasionally popping to the wooden hut to get a jug of boiling water to make a cup of tea, on one occasion a newspaper had a competition, they roped off a section of the beach and buried 5 “Gold” coins in the area, all of the kids were invited to dig for the coins, there were prizes for the finders but as is usual I didn’t win one and I never did find out what the prizes were, this is a bit like Willy Wonka, if anybody remembers this occasion and knows either who won or what they won I would be interested, I should imagine there are still a number of people that went on these trips who visit this site and can enlighten me.

A lovely view of Ropner Park, Stockton in winter c1900.

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A series of images showing racecourse programmes and race meet information from 1945 through to 1969.

Images courtesy of John Wilson.

Two photographs taken c1958 of my mother and children in Norton recreation ground in the ‘Rose Garden’ as I believe it was called. How grand it looked then.

Photographs and details courtesy of Jeff Cook.

The first photograph shows a horse called Mahalakshmi which ran in one of the supporting races that day. The jockey is a very young apprentice called Pat Eddery, he went on to be a racing superstar with over 4000 winners and was champion jockey many times.

The second photograph is of a horse called Noble Lad, his jockey is Ernie Johnson. Mr Johnson was also a top class jockey and the previous year had won the Epsom Derby riding Blakeney.

The third photograph shows a horse called Island Chief being led around the paddock, you can clearly see the race course stands in the background.

And finally a photograph of another well known jockey called Phillip Waldron seen walking out of the paddock in his white cap and purple/lilac colours.

Photographs and details courtesy of Martin Birtle.

A view of Lustrum Beck which we believe was taken from Norton Road in April 2009.

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These photographs show Friarage Woods, Yarm and the area known as the Froggery c1890.