RAILWAY history buffs were taken back to where it all started as part of a heritage festival.
A guided walk from the start of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, close to Phoenix Row, near Etherley, helped to kick off a week of activities to bring to life the rich heritage of Bishop Auckland and celebrate the birthplace of the railways.
The railway walk began at East Park Farm, just beyond Phoenix Row, the start of the 26-mile line.
Walkers headed up the Etherley Incline to the site of the stationary engine and engineman’s house and down to Greenfields, on the other side of the village.
Due to the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, walkers were split into small groups led by local historian John Raw, chairman of Etherley Incline and Witton Park Colliery Group, and Jane Hackworth-Young, the great great granddaughter of railway pioneer Timothy Hackworth.
Running to Sunday, November 1, the History and Heritage Festival includes 50 events jointly organised by the Bishop Auckland and Stockton and Darlington Heritage Action Zones.
Events and activities have been designed to celebrate the people who shaped the history of the region’s places while uncovering how those places have also been shaped over the years by their communities.
As part of the festival, Ms Hackworth-Young will give a virtual talk at 11am on Saturday, October 31, outlining the work of the Hackworth brothers Timothy and Thomas, charting their humble start at Wylam to their work on the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
The dale has featured in other festival events, including a guided walk across Cockfield Fell and the Haggerleases branch line, which was also the subject of a talk by historian and journalist Chris Lloyd.
Mr Lloyd will give another online talk on Thursday, October 29, entitled Teesdale Tracks and Derailing Dukes.
Those logging on will hear the lengths the dale’s most powerful landowner went to in an effort to prevent railways coming to the area.
A project based around the ongoing Norman Cornish exhibition at The Bowes Museum also forms part of the festival, while there is another walk across Cockfield Fell on Sunday, November 1.
Trish Pemberton, who is a member of the Stockton and Darlington Railway Heritage Board, said: ‘We are now only five years away from celebrating our 200th anniversary. We are excited to share fascinating stories of the development of the railway that ushered in the modern railway age and literally, ‘got the world on track’.
“We hope the festival will inspire as many people as possible to engage with our wonderful local heritage.”
For more details and to receive the link to Ms Hackworth-Young’s talk, email info@locomotion.org.uk.
For Mr Lloyd’s talk, email bishopaucklandhaz@durham.gov.uk for online joining instructions.
