S&DR200 Fringe

S&DR200 Fringe Festival will take place across 2025, giving communities and art organisations the chance to celebrate this special year in their own unique way. The Fringe includes a series of walks by the Friends of Stockton & Darlington Railway, events along the newly opened S&DR Discovery Trail, and there will also be events in Shildon, Witton Park, Darlington, Middleton St George & Stockton throughout the festival as part of the Fringe Calendar.

S&DR Walking Festival by Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway  
Various venues along the S&DR. 
A series of guided walks exploring the Stockton & Darlington railway. The event will take in the historic sites and landscape of the S&DR and walkers will discover hidden gems and stories of those who lived and worked along the line. 

Events from 10/05/2021 - 02/09/2021 - Friends Of The Stockton & Darlington Railway

April 

The S&DR: Recovering the Hackworth Defici" - with Mike Norman (Railway Bicentenary Talks)

Wednesday 16th April 2025 - Main Hall - Doors 7:00pm

As we're into the Stockton & Darlington Railway Bicentenary year, we're teaming up with the Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway and Jane Hackworth-Young to present a series of talks at Timothy Hackworth's own Institute.

Historian, Mike Norman has acquired a bold reputation for challenging the received understanding around the respective mechanical engineering achievements of Hackworth and the Stephensons.

All ages welcome - pre-booking required through FOTS&DR website

The Railway Children - Adapted by Mike Kenny.
Directed by Wendy Lowe and Wendie Middleton

Wednesday 30 April 2025 - Saturday 3 May 202

Celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
Middlesbrough Little Theatre Ltd and Middlesbrough Youth Theatre join forces to stage Mike Kenny's imaginative stage adaptation of E. Nesbit's much-loved children's classic.

When their father mysteriously disappears with two strangers one evening, the lives of Roberta, Peter and Phylis are turned upside-down. Forced to leave the comforts of their privileged London life in exchange for a simple existence in the depths of the Yorkshire countryside, this fractured family soon discover new friendships and an unexpected secret that will change their lives forever.
Famously filmed, this story of a prosperous Edwardian family forced into near-penury in the rural north of England captures the anxieties and exhilarations of childhood with great tenderness and insight.

Mike Kenny's version of The Railway Children was first staged at the National Railway Museum in York in 2008, before receiving a major production at Waterloo Station in London in 2010.

Book tickets here The Railway Children | Middlesbrough Box Office

'Hackworth: A Quest for Truth' with Mike Norman - Railway Bicentenary Talks #1  
Shildon Railway Institute  
23 April 
We're teaming up with the Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway and Jane Hackworth-Young to present a series of talks at Timothy Hackworth's own Institute. Historian, Mike Norman has acquired a bold reputation for challenging the received understanding around the respective mechanical engineering achievements of Hackworth and the Stephenson's. All ages welcome - ticket details coming soon. 

May 

Railway Bicentenary Tea Dance - with the Little Big Band
Saturday 10th May 2025 - Main Hall - times to be announced.

From the 1840s onward, Tea Dances have been a traditional way for Shildon to celebrate major milestones since the opening of the famous Stockton & Darlington Railway. Timothy Hackworth himself presided over the earliest, and later ones were presided over by members of the Pease family. Though 'quadrille bands' were all the rage in the early S&DR years we're teaming up with our Modern Sequence Dance Club to celebrate with tea, coffee, cake, sandwiches and a superb 'little' big band from Leeds. A lovely opportunity to dress up nicely.
Tickets Only - 18+ age restriction - Free Ticket - application details coming soon.

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Timothy Hackworth's Institute" - with Dave Reynolds (Railway Bicentenary Talks)
Wednesday 21st May 2025 - Main Hall - Doors 7:00pm

As we're into the Stockton & Darlington Railway Bicentenary year, we're teaming up with the Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway and Jane Hackworth-Young to present a series of talks at Timothy Hackworth's own Institute.

Dave Reynolds is Chair of Shildon Railway Institute and the author of "An Insatiable First - 190 Years of Shildon Railway Institute" a well researched history of Hackworth's pioneering organisation.

All ages welcome - Pre-booking required through FOTS&DR website

Railway Bicentenary - Sports & Games Festival (Tentative)
24th & 25th May 2025 - with Shildon BR - times to be announced.

As both the Institute and the BR Sports and Social Club both have their roots in activities started by the Stockton & Darlington Railway we will be reuniting for one special weekend of competitive sports and games. Saturday will bring the family outdoor events and a special social at the BR, and Sunday will being the indoor games at the Institute, culminating in a special prize giving ceremony in our main hall. This will be a special occasion involving Shildonians of all ages celebrating together.

Details coming soon.

Events | shildonrailway.institute

June 

"Three Greeners of Etherley and a Model Steam Engine" with Tom Walker (Railway Bicentenary Talks)
Wednesday 18th June 2025 - Main Hall - Doors 7:00pm

As we're into the Stockton & Darlington Railway Bicentenary year, we're teaming up with the Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway and Jane Hackworth-Young to present a series of talks at Timothy Hackworth's own Institute.

Tom Walker is descended from the Greener family who played an important part in the operation of the S&DR at the Etherley engine house.

All ages welcome - Pre-booking required through FOTS&DR website

Rail Bicentenary Exhibition - Blood, Bone & Muscle
26th to 28th June 2025 - Main Hall - From 7:00 pm.

Shildon didn't have the money or influence to feature in the name of the Stockton & Darlington Railway - but it was in exactly the right place to become its industrial operating powerhouse. For almost 160 years the people of Shildon provided the blood, muscle, bone operating the railway, building early locomotives and building and repairing its wagons. This exhibition showcases their story as part of S&DR 220 Fringe Festival.  

Free Entry - Click for more details

July 

"Teesdale Tracks and Derailing Dukes" - with Chris Lloyd (Railway Bicentenary Talks)

Wednesday 16th July 2025 - Main Hall - Doors 7:00pm

As we're into the Stockton & Darlington Railway Bicentenary year, we're teaming up with the Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway and Jane Hackworth-Young to present a series of talks at Timothy Hackworth's own Institute.

Chris Lloyd is a well known and loved journalist for the Northern Echo whose Echo Memories section of the newspaper has a dedicated following all in its own right for delving deeper into the region's history.

All ages welcome - Pre-booking required through FOTS&DR website

Write on Track - Stop Write Hear open mic group 
Various venues across Darlington, Preston Park & Shildon 
End of July TBC. 
Free to enter creative writing competition. Memoir, short story, poetry alongside free to attend writing workshops in Darlington, Preston Park and Shildon. 

August 

Shildon Spirit of the Railways Community Celebrations 2025 
Hackworth Park, Shildon 
2 August 11am-4pm  
Outdoor public event to celebrate the bi centenary of the railway in Shildon. Event will incorporate a theme from the 1800's with the hopes to include vintage vehicles, traditional fairground rides, all subject to successful funding applications. 

'Quoits & The Railways in Durham' 
Darlington Quoit Club 
19 August 
An exploration of the links between the growth of this traditional North-East sport in urban areas and the arrival of the railways AND the chance to play quoits at the only outdoor sporting venue in Darlington town centre. Think Hoop-la but with steel hoops! 

"Timothy Hackworth - The Man who Engineered a Future for the Locomotive" - with Mike Norman
(Railway Bicentenary Talks)
Wednesday 20th August 2025 - Main Hall - Doors 7:00pm

As we're into the Stockton & Darlington Railway Bicentenary year, we're teaming up with the Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway and Jane Hackworth-Young to present a series of talks at Timothy Hackworth's own Institute.

Historian, Mike Norman has acquired a bold reputation for challenging the received understanding around the respective mechanical engineering achievements of Hackworth and the Stephensons.

All ages welcome - Pre-booking required through FOTS&DR website

September 

On the Tracks - Darlington Stitch & Create Exhibition 
Darlington Library Gallery 
8 September
A textile art exhibition to celebrate the bicentenary of the S&D Railway. Members have interpreted various aspects in a variety of innovative creative textiles. 

"The Stockton & Darlington Railway - Getting America on Track" - with Jonathan Ratcliffe (Railway Bicentenary Talks)
Wednesday 17th September 2025 - Main Hall - Doors 7:00pm

As we're into the Stockton & Darlington Railway Bicentenary year, we're teaming up with the Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway and Jane Hackworth-Young to present a series of talks at Timothy Hackworth's own Institute.

A self confessed "industrial & railway history nerd" Jonathan Ratcliffe is the Secretary of the Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway.

All ages welcome - Pre-booking required through FOTS&DR website

 'Challenge A Champion' exhibition & sporting event 
Darlington Quoit Club 
20 September
There are women, men & children in the centre of Darlington throwing ring of steel , some weighing 5lbs, a distance of 11 yards, at a metal hob in a 3 foot square of clay! They're playing quoits - a traditional North-East game. Come along and challenge a champion! 

'Quoits & The Railways in Durham' - Exhibition & sporting event 
Darlington Quoit Club 
26 September  
An exploration of the links between the growth of this traditional North-East sport in urban areas and the arrival of the railways and the chance to play quoits at the only outdoor sporting venue in Darlington town centre. Think Hoop-la but with steel hoops! 

Rail Bicentenary Variety Concert
Saturday 22nd November 2025 - Main Hall - From 7:00 pm.

As this is a special year for Shildon and this date is very close to the Railway Institute's own birthday date (the day when Timothy Hackworth and his friends founded the Institute in 1833) we're going to have a special concert to bring our celebrations to a close showcasing the very best of today's talent in and around Shildon.

Tickets Only - 18+ age restriction - Ticket details TBA.

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