Technology has revolutionised rail travel but standard gauge remains

THE primary purpose of the S&DR was to move coal from the Durham collieries to the port of Stockton-on-Tees to be shipped down the coast to the London dockiands.

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Horses and wooden waggonways had transported heavy loads for centuries. It wasn't until the S&DR demonstrated that using wrought iron and adapting wheels rather than rails was more successful that the transition to metal rails began.

Stationary steam engines were commonplace in mines and mills. A precursor to the locomotive involved using a steam driven pulley system to conquer horse defying gradients. Meanwhile, George and Robert Stephenson, alongside Timothy Hackworth, were moving steam technology on.

Most people would have never seen any type of steam engine, especially one that was going to travel 26 miles between towns. The extent of the iron tracks laid across the countryside was also unprecedented.

The excitement brewing over the arrival of this new technology and the overspend led to an ingenious idea.