A COUNTDOWN to the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway is set to begin with a showpiece event later this year. 

Leaders at Stockton Council have agreed to start getting plans ready for a 195th anniversary “launch event” this September ahead of the 200th birthday of the world’s first steam locomotive passenger rail journey in 2025.

Cllr Jim Beall, cabinet member for culture, leisure and health, told the latest cabinet meeting a number of events were being looked at in 2025 – including a “Kynren-style” showpiece (January 23). 

He said: “I’m excited by the potential of what we could do.

“All of it will need costing up and perhaps bringing cabinet but one line in there that floated my boat was the idea of a Kynren-type event using the excellent Preston Park or the Riverside. 

“After all, the origin of the railway was more about getting coal out through the ships on the Tees. 

“There is great potential to do something spectacular and noteworthy for this bicentenary.”

The Kynren outdoor theatre shows are held near Bishop Auckland and have attracted visitors from all over the world.

Council bosses across the region are expecting the 200th S&DR anniversary to attract similar high numbers of international visitors. 

A “Heritage Action Zone” has already been established on the 26-mile corridor of the original route.

Stockton leaders are hoping the river front downstream of Victoria Bridge will play an “active role” in marking the event given its coal industry connections.

Various concepts for the 2025 celebration are also being mulled over in Stockton – including an outdoor theatre or projection, a recreation of the race at the time between the first train and a horse drawn carriage, and a “young inventors event”. 

A marching band could also be in the offing.

The report added: “The race between a replica Locomotion and a horse drawn carriage would be staged within Preston Park, on a purpose-built, temporary section of line parallel with the original S&DR line. 

“The race would be run a number of times a week – perhaps throughout August of 2025.”

A team is being formed to look at these ideas alongside voluntary groups such as the Friends of Stockton & Darlington Railway.

Work is also being done to preserve landmarks along the route of the line with Durham County Council and Darlington Council. 

Costs haven’t been drawn up yet for the Stockton events being worked out for 2025 but future budgets between 2024 and 2026 are expected to foot the bill. 

Independent Cllr Andrew Sherris passed on a message saying he wanted Yarm to be included in any celebrations given its links to the formation of the railway. 

Meanwhile, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council leader Bob Cook wanted to see the region get more recognition for its role in history. 

He said: “The train ran through to get to the dockside at Stockton to load the ships – I believe the coal was going to London to heat and power the city.

“It’s similar to now when most things from the North-east tend to end up down there – and we tend not to get too much back, including money. 

“It’s something we need to celebrate and I think we can say it was the start of the industrial revolution in this country – steam and the train fuelled that revolution.

“Everything was engineered up and manufactured better to get products to market.

“When you watch television programmes they tend to brush over the Stockton & Darlington and go straight to Manchester and Liverpool.

“As an area, we need to champion the part we played as a region in ensuring that steam trains, and stream as an energy product, were at the forefront.

“We were there right at the very beginning.”