Here on this line in North East England, people created the first successful locomotive powered public railway and changed the way the world trades, travels and communicates.
The S&DR is a story about people with vision, skills and determination who saw an opportunity and seized it. Through engineering innovation and ingenuity, the S&DR lit the fuse for the explosive international expansion of railways that changed the face of the world which connected places, people, communities and ideas which ultimately transformed the lives and experiences of people locally and around the globe.
The S&DR Railway Heritage Partnership brings together local and national heritage and rail organisations, local authorities and combined authorities. The Partnership seeks to establish a 26 mile, connected accessible and coherent visitor attraction comprising heritage buildings, museum collections, cycleways and footpaths, digital and physical interpretation. This enhanced, permanent visitor attraction will be launched by the programme that celebrates the 200th anniversary of its original creation.
If you would like to hear more about the plans for 2025 then please leave your email address here and we will update you as the programme progresses with news and opportunities of how to get involved. Our privacy policy can be found here.