24 Feb 2021
RAIL HISTORY: Timothy Hackworth, great-great-grandfather of Teesdale s Jane Hackworth-Young.
AFTER nearly 200 years, descendants of the original railway pioneers have been reunited to promote the historic line that their forefathers were instrumental in creating. Matthew Pease, the great-great-great-great-grandson of Edward “Father of the Railways” Pease has become the President of the Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway (S&DR), while Jane Hackworth-Young, the great-great-
granddaughter of Timothy Hackworth, has become the organisation’s vice president. Edward Pease was the driving force behind the railway, which is regarded as the birthplace of the modern railway, and Timothy Hackworth was the superintendent engineer when the line opened on September 27, 1825.
Locomotion No 1 at Head of Steam Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT. A VOLUNTARY group of railway enthusiasts is offering to step in and host talks to find a compromise in the increasingly bitter dispute over the future of the historic Locomotion No 1 engine. In a strongly worded statement, the Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway express dismay at the breakdown of talks between the National Railway Museum at York and Darlington council over where the 196-year-old engine should be sited. Locomotion No 1, which pulled the first train on the line on September 27, 1825, is owned by the NRM but has been on display in Darlington since 1857. With the 200th anniversary fast approaching, the NRM wants to place the engine at the centre of its revamped Locomotion museum in Shildon, where the inaugural journey started, whereas Darlington wants it to be at the heart of its Railway Quarter plans revolving around Head of Steam museum.
AFTER nearly 200 years, descendants of the original railway pioneers have been reunited to promote the historic line that their forefathers were instrumental in creating. Matthew Pease, the great-great-great-great-grandson of Edward “Father of the Railways” Pease has become the President of the Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway, while Jane Hackworth-Young, the great-great-grand-daughter of Timothy Hackworth, has become the organisation’s Vice-President. Edward Pease was the driving force behind the railway, which is regarded as the birthplace of the modern railway, and Timothy Hackworth was the Superintendent Engineer when the line opened on September 27, 1825. Niall Hammond, Chair of the Friends, said: “We are delighted that two people bearing such famous railway names, who also have a deep interest in the line’s achievements, have come on board at this crucial time as we seek to preserve and promote the S&DR in the build-up to its 200th anniversary w