It was an iconic moment which marked the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway 200 years ago. Now, the journey taken by George Stephenson, the first president of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), on 27 September 1825 is to be re-enacted by the organisation’s current head.
The replica of Locomotion Number One will depart from the Coal Drops, part of the Locomotion Museum in Shildon, County Durham, at 11:30 on Friday September 26th 2025. As well as the intermediate stations between Shildon and Stockton, Locomotion will visit The Hopetown Museum in Darlington and cross the Grade 1 listed Skerne Bridge, the oldest railway bridge in the world still in continuous operation
Mr Stephenson’s journey from Stockton to Darlington took place on his newly built steam engine, Locomotive Number One. Matt Garside, the current president of the IMechE, will celebrate the bicentenary of that event by being present at the departure of a working replica of Locomotion Number One on the re-enaction of that historic journey.
Mr Garside will also present the Stockton and Darlington Railway with an IMechE Engineering Heritage Award to recognise the pioneering engineering achievement of building the world’s first steam powered passenger railway. He will unveil a plaque at The Masons Arms in Shildon, the starting point of Locomotion Number One in 1825 – as well as a second plaque at Castlegate Quay in Stockton, the original terminus.
Mark Jackson, Northeast Region chair of the IMechE, said: “ We are delighted to host our president on this significant occasion which acknowledges the extraordinary engineering heritage of the Northeast of England, which is still going strong today. The IMechE is proud that George Stephenson and his son Robert are both past presidents of our Institution which looks forward to its own bicentenary in 2047.”