The culture shapers: RAILWAY TRAVEL

RAILWAY TRAVEL

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On 27th September 1825, a holiday was declared in Darlington as the Stockton and Darlington Railway, Britain's first railway line, officially opened. At New Shildon, steam engine Locomotion No 1 was coupled up to a wagon of flour sacks, 12 coal wagons, and 21 open wagons to carry the general public, plus a purpose-built passenger carriage named 'Experiment' - a load of 80-90 tons in all.

The engine's maker, engineer George Stephenson, drove Locomotion No 1 on the 'iron road' to Darlington, where the train stopped for lunch, refuelled and re-watered before continuing to Yarm and Stockton-on-Tees. On every flat part of the 26-mile route, horses raced alongside the puffing engine but none could beat it. At a time when coach travel from London to Darlington could take five days, the railway signalled a transport revolution for people and goods. Even now, is there anything to beat a scenic rail journey or the feeling of freedom when you take a train? railway200.co.uk

TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE

Correct time-keeping was essential to ensure that an increasingly complex railway timetable ran efficiently. It’s hard to believe now, but in the early 19th century different parts of the country operated on slightly different time zones: Bristol was 11 minutes behind London time, and Bridgwater in Somerset 14 minutes. In 1840, Great Western Railway told its stations to adopt London time, a measure which, by 1855, was embraced by most public authorities. Clocks were vital station 'furniture' and this practical mahogany example, made after 1965 when British Railways became British Rail, was from the Southern region, which had stations across Hampshire, Kent, London, Surrey and Sussex. It sold for £416 at Sworders.