STEAM TO THE FUTURE 未来への蒸気
S&DR200 Presents: STEAM to the Future
Did you know? STEAM to the Future in Japanese is 未来への蒸気
This family friendly exhibition, following Railway Pioneers: Celebrating the Railway Rockstars of the Past, is transporting us into the present and beyond. STEAM to the Future takes a playful look at the near and BlueSky thinking using commissioned art pieces showcasing the design and science behind the rail industry.
S&DR200 has commissioned an immersive installation by A.A.Murakami (AKA Studio Swine) inspired by steam as a source of power, and the chance to create a 22nd century inspired locomotive using virtual reality software.
All of our railway contributors are looking to the future and this is a glimpse into just some of the work that is underway to ensure the railways continue for another 200 years and how the rail industry is gearing up for a second revolution driven by the growing green technologies sector in the Tees Valley and County Durham.
Presented by S&DR200, ‘STEAM to the Future’ is the second of two exciting exhibitions being held in the Exhibition Hall* at Hopetown Darlington.
In partnership with: LNER, Hitachi Rail, Network Rail, Cummins.
Delivered by: Darlington Borough Council, Durham County Council & Stockton Borough Council.
Major Funders: Arts Council England, Tees Valley Combined Authority.
*The Exhibition Hall is sponsored by Darlington Building Society.
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES
Take a walking tour to discover Darlington’s locomotive building history.
From the early days of Kitching’s foundry through to the 1960s closure of North Road Works, you’ll discover Darlington’s mighty railway engineering past as you step foot on the very land where grand workshops once stood.
Learn about the companies and people involved in the building of these steam workhorses and how they helped shape a community.
The tour will end at the new Darlington Locomotive Works where you’ll see that Darlington is still leading the way when it comes to building steam locomotives fit for the future.
Please note this is a walking tour which includes some walking over uneven ground.
Cost: £10 per person
Where: Hopetown Darlington and North Road
When: Saturday 19 July, 10am-11am | Saturday 16 August, 10am-11am
Tickets: Book tour tickets here
This tour showcases the pioneering railway heritage of the area from the 1830s to present day.
Explore the area where the railways once thrived in Darlington as part of a walking tour of the Hopetown Darlington site. Discover what buildings and industries were once located here and what the whole area used to look like in the years before it became a popular (and award-winning) visitor attraction.
Please note this is a walking tour which includes some walking over uneven ground.
Cost: £10 per person
Where: Hopetown Darlington
When: Saturday 2 August, 10am-11am | Saturday 6 September, 10am-11am
Tickets: Book tour tickets here
Hopetown Darlington is pleased to welcome Neil Mackay from the North Eastern Railway Association (NERA) to divulge the biography of William Bouch.
Timothy Hackworth gets lots of publicity when Shildon is mentioned (justifiably so in the early years when he kept the Stockton & Darlington Railway locomotive fleet running). However, William Bouch (1813-1876) managed Shildon works for 36 years from 1840 until his death, but he receives scant mention today.
Together with Oswald Gilkes, and later David Dale, he ran the Shildon Works Company. This was a wholly-owned subsidiary of the S&DR, and a very early example of management incentives using profit-sharing. From 1849 the company was responsible for the haulage of S&DR trains, from locomotive and rolling stock maintenance and construction to the provision of train crews.
Bouch introduced bogie passenger tender locomotives to England, and oversaw the construction of the new North Road works at Darlington.
The talk will describe Bouch's contribution to railway development in the north east and give some of the background to how the incentive scheme worked.
Cost: Free
Where: North Road Station Museum at Hopetown Darlington
When: Saturday 6 September, 2pm-3.30pm
Tickets: Book lecture tickets here
Join Gareth Dennis, the award-winning railway engineer and writer as he tells us how the railways fit into the future of mobility and civilisation as a whole.
He will talk about trains today, what we get right, what we don't, and what lessons we can learn from two hundred years of modern railways. He'll tell us which countries have the best railway systems and why. And he'll tell us what role railways will have in shaping and sustaining our future, as we face down climate change, population and demographic changes and the threats of the rising power of the tech industry.
Lastly, he'll paint a picture of what a future with railways at the heart of our transport system can look like, and how it's a better future for us all.
Cost: £3
Where: North Road Station Museum at Hopetown Darlington
When: Wednesday 10 September, 2pm-4pm
Tickets: Book tickets to the talk here
With over 30,000 objects and artefacts in our collection, The Stores is a treasure trove of discovery!
Join our Collections and Engagement Manager Alison Grange to discover her personal highlights of our object and archive collection. Learn about their impact on Darlington, the wider region and the world.
Cost: £3 per person
Where: The Stores in the Carriage Works at Hopetown Darlington
When: Saturday 13 September, 2pm-3pm
Tickets: Book tickets here
Join our Collections and Engagement Manager Alison Grange to discover more about our collection.
The fascinating objects and archives will bring to life stories unique to Darlington’s railway heritage. With a special focus on the Stockton & Darlington Railway, visitors can explore our early railway collection and how our ancestors changed the world from here.
Cost: £5 per person
Where: The Stores in the Carriage Works at Hopetown Darlington
When: Sunday 14 September, 2pm-2.45pm | Saturday 20 September,10.30am-11.15am
Tickets: Book tickets here
Designed for our younger visitors, pick up a free trail from the Welcome Desk when checking into Hopetown Darlington. Follow the clues, walk the site and complete each activity to find the hidden letter. Trade in your sheet for a sticker at the end!
Cost: Free
Where: Hopetown Darlington (site wide)
When: Daily, 10am-5pm between 11 July - 5 October
Jump aboard North East England’s only permanent immersive experience ride! Join Georgie and Stephen on an extraordinarily vivid journey into passenger rail travel! Starting right here in Darlington in 1825 with Locomotion No. 1's first steam-powered passenger railway journey, take an exciting ride into the past to discover more about the history of the railways, and imagine where they will take us in the future! See the impact Darlington's railway heritage has had across societies and cultures across time and around the world.
Cost: £5 per passenger
Where: North Road Station Museum at Hopetown Darlington
When: Daily, 10am-5pm
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