Stephenson College

Pioneered by George Stephenson, rail transport was one of the most important technological inventions of the 19th century and a key component of the Industrial Revolution.

Built by George and his son Robert’s company Robert Stephenson and Company, at factories on North Road, Darlington the Locomotion No. 1 was the first steam locomotive to carry passengers on a public rail line, the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825.

In 1821, a parliamentary bill was passed to allow the building of the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR). The 25-mile (40 km) railway connected collieries near Bishop Auckland to the River Tees at Stockton, passing through Darlington on the way.

The original plan was to use horses to draw coal carts on metal rails, but after company director Edward Pease met Stephenson, he agreed to change the plans. Stephenson surveyed the line in 1821 and assisted by his eighteen-year-old son Robert, construction began the same year.