The Middleton Railway is delighted to be taking part in the “Whistle up” on 1st January to herald the start of “Railway 200”, a celebration of the opening of the Stockton to Darlington Railway.
The opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825 caught the public imagination and catapulted railways into the limelight ... it created so much excitement that we’re still talking about it today.
Railway 200 is about commemorating all the milestones in railway history that created the modern world that we live in – not just the Stockton and Darlington Railway anniversary. From package holidays to commuting and even standardised time, the railways gave birth to them all – this is the year to celebrate all the achievements of the railways.
The Middleton Railway’s engineers Matthew Murray and John Blenkinsop’s pioneer work in 1812 paved the way for George Stephenson’s “Locomotion No 1” to successfully haul the first public passenger train in the World between Stockton & Darlington in 1825. To commemorate this historic event, heritage railways throughout the UK will be sounding their whistles at 12 noon on New Year’s Day.
At Middleton, we will be using historic Manning Wardle steam locomotive "Sir Berkeley” built in Leeds in 1890 and owned by our partner organisation, Vintage Carriages Trust. Local Councillor Paul Wray will be doing the honours by blowing the whistle at 12 noon representing our continued association as part of the local Hunslet community.
