Happy 200th Birthday to the Railway

[Hadders]

I can’t see a thread about this, but today is the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Stockton & Darlington Railway, largely recognised as the birth of the modern railway.

The railway has had a massive impact on the way we live and work. It brings people together and moves goods to where they’re needed.

Events marking the anniversary have been taking place all year, but today’s the actual date.

Happy Birthday! Here’s to the next 200.

 

[farci]

He's back with a series:
Michael Portillo's 200 Years of the Railways

Railway enthusiast Michael Portillo follows the route of the pioneering Stockton and Darlington Railway in north east England - the world’s first public railway to carry fee-paying passengers using steam locomotives. He learns how the Stockton and Darlington proved that railways could work - sparking a transport revolution across Britain and beyond.

He visits key locations in the story of this pioneering railway, including the town of Shildon, from where the train hauled by Locomotion No.1 set off in 1825; Bishop Auckland, where he joins thousands at a spectacular outdoor show to launch the 200th anniversary and drives a replica of the original train; and the Tyne and Wear Metro, where he discovers a new fleet transforming travel in north east England.

 

[WesternLancer]

Rather good all day broadcast on bbc radio 3 today from the southbound Highlsnd Chieftain and stations on route featuring music associated with railways. Currently covering film music including Night Mail.

I rarely if ever listen to Radio 3 but I’m impressed by today’s efforts.

It’s called Train Tracks and is a live broadcast.

 

[Peter C]

Rather good all day broadcast on bbc radio 3 today from the southbound Highlsnd Chieftain and stations on route featuring music associated with railways. Currently covering film music including Night Mail.

I rarely if ever listen to Radio 3 but I’m impressed by today’s efforts.

Yes I'm just listening to this - I'd followed the thread on here about the special broadcast but forgot about it until I heard it mentioned on the Radio 4 news at noon! Now listening to a rendition of Night Mail and it's brilliant.

-Peter

 

[Siimo]

There were quite a few announcements about this across the SWR network today - about the only occasion when I welcome SWR playing even more! I'd had the heads-up from R3 trailing their morning broadcasts but will have to listen to it on catch-up, as was out riding the trains to get to some parkrun tourism and catch the remaining 455s. I'm wondering if they were daring enough to play Honneger's Pacific 231 which may offend more delicate ears with a quite literal sonic depiction of a steam locomotive.
I said 'happy birthday' to some staff checking tickets, most of them got it

 

[pokemonsuper9]

Heard an announcement about this at Ilkley earlier today.
I had forgotten it was the 200 day I untill I heard it.

 

[YorksLad12]

Bunting was up at Leeds when I arrived back yesterday evening - actually looks good. Didn't see any at Kings Cross when I left though. Happy birthday, railways of Britain!

 

[WesternLancer]

Yes I'm just listening to this - I'd followed the thread on here about the special broadcast but forgot about it until I heard it mentioned on the Radio 4 news at noon! Now listening to a rendition of Night Mail and it's brilliant.

-Peter

I’ve enjoyed it a lot. I was particularly pleased that they played sound clips from the NRM collection which were credited to Peter Handford’s archive.

I think it’s a shame this sound archive doesn’t seem to be commercially exploited as well as it could be, as an aside.

 

[Bald Rick]

Happy Birthday!
I have enjoyed advising a couple of long-serving colleagues that they have worked for the modern railway for a quarter of the time it has existed

 

[Sorcerer]

Happy 200th Birthday to the railway, easily one of the most revolutionary inventions of the modern world that has evolved with the times while still maintaining it's basic pragmatic function and will continue to do so hopefully for another 200 years to come! Trains truly are the horseshoe crab of transport!

 

[Bantamzen]

Indeed, happy birthday to the railways. And Northern celebrated the day with cancellations & short formed services, leading to trains rammed to the gills, punters left on platforms, and I imagine a lot of Delay Repay claims.

 

[northernchris]

Indeed, happy birthday to the railways. And Northern celebrated the day with cancellations & short formed services, leading to trains rammed to the gills, punters left on platforms, and I imagine a lot of Delay Repay claims.

Business as usual for them, why should today be any different

 

[Siimo]

Indeed, happy birthday to the railways. And Northern celebrated the day with cancellations & short formed services, leading to trains rammed to the gills, punters left on platforms, and I imagine a lot of Delay Repay claims.

South Western were generous enough to put on some buses for all those coming to celebrate from west of Southampton

 

[DarloRich]

A fantastic day in Darlington yesterday. Great to see so many people taking part.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

There was a second Michael Portillo "200 Years" documentary on BBC2 yesterday, including a visit to the Greatest Gathering.
This one concentrated on the railways' impact on society, mostly involving the Liverpool & Manchester Railway, and included a visit to Chat Moss at Astley.
Does the railway today really "float" over the bog there?
Most of the Moss has been drained into farmland over the 195 years since George Stephenson built the LMR.

 

[Babybirdrobin]

Happy (late) Birthday railways!

 

[Bantamzen]

Business as usual for them, why should today be any different

I dunno, I thought maybe to celebrate everything could run as planned just for a change

 

[johnr57]

5Z01 , Shildon to Darlington Hopetown, just south of Heighington

I have a short video too here

iCloud Photos - Apple iCloud

View, organize, and share photos and videos with iCloud Photos on the web. Changes will sync across your devices with iCloud.

share.icloud.com

 

[YorksLad12]

There was a second Michael Portillo "200 Years" documentary on BBC2 yesterday, including a visit to the Greatest Gathering.

Did he stop mid-sentence at one point and go "Oh... Jago Hazard!" in a grumpy voice?
(Which only makes sense if you saw the corresponding Jago Hazard video.)

 

[Porty]

Radio 3 put up a very good series of shows yesterday from 0730 till 1700. Lots of facts about the railway from Petroc Trelawney on the Highland Chieftain. The technology seemed to work very well. I saw some of the Edinburgh Waverley live segment and it still amazes me that a presenter wandering about with a microphone and headset and a few gizmos on a waistband, reading from his mobile phone is broadcasting live. No sign of any winding cables or satellite trucks like in the olden days.

Even the "person struck by a train" and the consequent diversion via the Durham Coast line didn't matter too much as Petroc could then excitedly talk about Stockton station as he passed through on the diversionary route, and he still arrived at Kings Cross before the programme ended.

Good to hear the archive sounds clips. Well worth a listen on BBC Sounds even if classical music is not your normal thing. There's even some folk and the odd bit of Simon and Garfunkel (Homeward Bound). The Radio 3 Facebook site posted a 2 minute summary of the day from stations at Inverness, Pitlochry, Waverley, Darlington and Kings Cross.

 

[cats_five]

I enjoyed it very much, but felt the reason for the diversion could have been treated a bit more respectfully.

 

[JamieL]

Happy birthday to the railway!

Personally I see this as a moment for celebration and reflection. Fantastic that the railways were built and a true legacy for our predecessors. But it also highlights modern inadequacy - we continue to live with the route infrastructure built so long ago with the only real "updates" to routes being closures. What little is left of HS2 bucks that trend but I don't think our predecessors would be very impressed with an 80 mile route built in 20 years compared to their achievements. We are the beneficiaries of herculean 19th century railway builders but are offering little new for our successors.

 

[rower40]

On my way this morning from Darlington to Saltburn for the Boulby Mine railtour, the train I was on (2D00) passed Locomotion No.1 while it was resting in Eaglescliffe loop. It (Locomotion and its rake) appears to have gone onwards via Stockton and the Stillington branch to Ferryhill South Junction, where it waited for quite a while- in full view of the ECML. That may have caused a few double-takes from Azuma/Voyager/TPE regulars.

 

[The exile]

There was a second Michael Portillo "200 Years" documentary on BBC2 yesterday, including a visit to the Greatest Gathering.
This one concentrated on the railways' impact on society, mostly involving the Liverpool & Manchester Railway, and included a visit to Chat Moss at Astley.
Does the railway today really "float" over the bog there?
Most of the Moss has been drained into farmland over the 195 years since George Stephenson built the LMR.

And a wonderful line in connection with fish and chips about the North Sea’s fish stock getting battered!

 

[Spartacus]

Bunting was up at Leeds when I arrived back yesterday evening - actually looks good. Didn't see any at Kings Cross when I left though. Happy birthday, railways of Britain!

Have the Middleton Railway railway had any sly digs about being 67 years older than the ‘railways’ themselves?

Given the life expectancy of the era I wonder if anyone who can remember the opening of the Middleton was around when the Stockton & Darlington opened?

 

[John Webb]

At the preserved St Albans South box, a donated bench has been refurbished and a mosaic added by a local art group to commemorate the 200th Anniversary:


It includes Locomotion No.1, the 700 unit representing the local trains and the forthcoming 810s, now regularly passing the box on, we understand, driver training runs.

 

[WesternLancer]

At the preserved St Albans South box, a donated bench has been refurbished and a mosaic added by a local art group to commemorate the 200th Anniversary:
View attachment 189250

It includes Locomotion No.1, the 700 unit representing the local trains and the forthcoming 810s, now regularly passing the box on, we understand, driver training runs.

Looks very smart!

 

[Meole]

Neat 200 juxtaposition very early sunday morning with Locomotion posing next to an Azuma inside Bank Top.
A superbly organised event overall and judging by the public turnout very positive for rail.

 

[Bald Rick]

At the preserved St Albans South box, a donated bench has been refurbished and a mosaic added by a local art group to commemorate the 200th Anniversary:
View attachment 189250

It includes Locomotion No.1, the 700 unit representing the local trains and the forthcoming 810s, now regularly passing the box on, we understand, driver training runs.

Superb!

 

[WesternLancer]

Radio 3 put up a very good series of shows yesterday from 0730 till 1700. Lots of facts about the railway from Petroc Trelawney on the Highland Chieftain. The technology seemed to work very well. I saw some of the Edinburgh Waverley live segment and it still amazes me that a presenter wandering about with a microphone and headset and a few gizmos on a waistband, reading from his mobile phone is broadcasting live. No sign of any winding cables or satellite trucks like in the olden days.

Even the "person struck by a train" and the consequent diversion via the Durham Coast line didn't matter too much as Petroc could then excitedly talk about Stockton station as he passed through on the diversionary route, and he still arrived at Kings Cross before the programme ended.

Good to hear the archive sounds clips. Well worth a listen on BBC Sounds even if classical music is not your normal thing. There's even some folk and the odd bit of Simon and Garfunkel (Homeward Bound). The Radio 3 Facebook site posted a 2 minute summary of the day from stations at Inverness, Pitlochry, Waverley, Darlington and Kings Cross.

Occurs to me did Overture 125 get included? If it did I didn’t catch it. Deserving of a play in the context of the playlist.