Locomotion Railway Museum, England

 This afternoon, I am reprising a one-day section of an extended tour focused on steam trains.

First, we departed our lodgings in Porthmadog, Wales and drove east, across mountainous, heather clad scenery, landscapes populated by sheep and small farms and then into industrial north-western England. Unfortunately, we were delayed by about 45 mins due to an accident on the motorway but eventually reached our destination of Locomotion Railway Museum a little late at about 3.00pm. Part of the group were deposited at Locomotion whilst others spent time exploring Bishop Auckland, a nearby country town with a long history.

The museum is sited near Timothy Hackworth's Soho Works on the world's first public railway, the Stockton and Darlingtom Railway (opened on 27 September 1825 with a train hauled by Locomotion No 1 which took 2 hours to complete the 12-mile (19 km) journey from Shildon to Darlington ). The town was to become a major centre for British railway engineering thanks to the Shildon wagon works, which closed in 1984.

LNWR 3020, Locomotion, England

Locomotion, England

LMS Stanier Class 5, Locomotion

Sans Pareil, Locomotion

Bishop Auckland, England

Bishop Auckland, England

Bishop Auckland

Tonight we overnight at Bishop Auckland.

Tomorrow, we visit Hadrian’s Wall and then southern Scotland.

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