Locomotion railway museum in Shildon has announced its programme for the railway’s bicentenary year, including new exhibitions and a Flying Scotsman residency.
The museum is looking to mark the North East’s seminal role in railway history with a packed year of special events.
Brand-new exhibitions, a summer-long festival with Flying Scotsman in residence, guest locomotive line ups, a visit from the Railway 200 Exhibition Train and a host of other events and activities will run throughout the year.
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In early April, an iconic statue of Robert Stephenson owned by Network Rail will be installed at the museum, returning the legendary railway pioneer to the region where he made his name. The 8ft 10in bronze figure stood outside London’s Euston station from 1871 to 2020, when it was removed for redevelopment and restored to its original condition by HS2.
Visitors will be able to view the statue at the museum from 8 April.
A new exhibition, Railway Firsts, opened at Locomotion in February, spotlighting pivotal moments that shaped the railways, from pioneering feats of engineering to the railway’s impact on our holiday habits – and even the world’s very first fixed train toilet.
The museum will also run an expanded schools and family programme through 2025, with hands-on activities, STEM workshops and storytelling sessions. Over the Easter break, activities will focus on ‘movement and journeys’, while learning activities over the early May Bank Holiday weekend will be themed around ‘trailblazers of the S&DR’.
From June – December, the Young Railway Photographer of the Year exhibition will be on display, showcasing the artistic flair and passion for rail of the UK’s brightest young photographic talent.
Locomotion’s summer festival returns for a second year from 19 July – 31 August, with steam rides, a pop-up beach – and a residency from the legendary Flying Scotsman (26 July – 25 August), offering a mix of rides and static display. Full details and ticketing will be released later in the year.
The world’s first fare-paying passenger rail journey took place on the Stockton and Darlington Railway line, a section of which Locomotion sits alongside, on 27 September 1825.
Widely regarded as the moment which heralded the inception of the modern railway, the bicentenary is being marked across County Durham and Tees Valley by the S&DR200 festival programme, in which Locomotion are a major delivery partner. The festival will launch with a spectacular open-air event in Bishop Auckland on 29 March, with tickets now on general sale from the S&DR200 website.
Across 26, 27 and 28 of September, a recreation of the first fare-paying passenger journey will take place, when a newly renovated replica of Locomotion No. 1 runs on sections of the original S&DR line over three days. The engine will bypass Locomotion on 26 September.
Locomotion is also a partner in Railway 200, the nationwide celebration of the bicentenary of the railways. The Railway 200 touring exhibition train, Inspiration, will be stationed at Locomotion from 20 September – 1 October – including over the anniversary weekend.
Curated in partnership with the National Railway Museum, Inspiration will visit over 60 destinations, telling the story of the past, present and future of the railways through interactive exhibition carriages, with a mission to promote careers in rail.
In October, West Side Story, a major new touring exhibition that explores the story of the Stockton & Darlington Railway, will arrive at Locomotion.
The Brick Alley LEGO user group will return for another weekend of creativity in November, featuring astonishing railway scenes created from LEGO and interactive building activities.
Sarah Price, Head of Locomotion, said: “As the nation marks the bicentenary of the modern railway, Locomotion will right at the heart of the celebrations.
“This will be a year like no other. We’re excited to welcome visitors from all over the world to be a part of history in the making, as we celebrate the past, present and future of the railways in the place where it all began.”
Locomotion is home to the largest collection of historic locomotives undercover in Europe, including Stephenson’s Rocket, the 1955 prototype diesel-electric, Deltic, and a host of historic vehicles built at the legendary Shildon Works.
The collection will be bolstered with special line-ups of loaned rail vehicles that tell the story of the past, present and future of the railways over the late May bank holiday, over the summer festival and again in September, with full details set to be released later in the year.
The Friends of the National Railway Museum North East are also bringing a new season of free talks to Locomotion on selected dates as they take a deep dive into the story of the railways. Check the Locomotion website for details.
In February, Locomotion received the Heritage Railway Association’s most prestigious prize – the Manisty Award for Excellence – in recognition of the museum’s expansion and site improvements in 2024.
New Hall opened at the museum in May last year, almost doubling the museum’s exhibition space with an extra 47 vehicles that tell the story of Shildon’s railway heritage. This resulted in a 31% increase in visitors over 2024 – its biggest year to date.
2025 is set to be even better, with Locomotion the essential destination to celebrate a landmark year in railway history – right where the journey started.
