Darlington's famous railway

I've just returned from Darlington, where I spent a few days with my aunt Sarah. Sarah used to live in Newcastle; a place that I always enjoyed visiting as there's so much to see and do. But Darlington?

Then I remembered that Darlington has one great claim to fame – the Stockton & Darlington Railway which, as you may know, was the first passenger-carrying steam railway in the world.  It's said that 40,000 people turned out to witness the inaugural run on September 27th 1825.

John Dobbins' painting of the great day records Locomotion hauling its train over Darlington's Skerne Bridge, which is now the oldest operational railway bridge in the world. Seeking it out would, I told myself, make an interesting adventure.

My 2 mile walk from Aunt Sarah's home took me beneath this oddity, known as Skinny Bridge. It certainly tests ones ability to steer a straight line but, in historical terms, is a mere whipper snapper compared to the bridge I had set out to find.

And here it is, looking in fine fettle for its age, and complete with a 21st century successor to Locomotion. Not so long ago the scene was very different, with weeds and overgrowth reaching almost as high as the bridge, but last year the place received a makeover with the opening of a new cycle way.

A few minutes walk from Skerne Bridge is North Road Station, the home of the Head of Steam railway museum. I was going to give it a miss as rows of lifeless railway engines don't thrill me greatly, but with time to spare I changed my mind and paid the £3.75 entrance fee.  And am I glad that I did! For there stood Locomotion herself – the engine that hauled that first passenger train.

Be warned, though, that a cup of tea at this museum costs almost as much as the entrance fee, and I even had to search out the fridge to add my own milk... but I'm not one to complain. Instead, cup in hand, I went in search of a memento of my visit. A commemorative mug, perhaps, for another cup of tea? A colourful guide book? 

 

Then I found this old platform ticket machine. Eagerly I inserted a 10p coin, pulled the big brass handle, and out popped my prize.

 .