A1 TRUST’S NEW BASE TO BE ‘S&D200’ CENTREPIECE

As 200th anniversary approaches, a ‘master planner’ is being sought to create a lasting legacy.

Plans are in motion for a ‘railway heritage quarter’ in Darlington to mark the 200th anniversary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway. Tees Valley Combined Authority is seeking a ‘masterplanner’ and inviting tenders for the proposed 8.3-hectare attraction, with the centrepiece being the 1861-built S&DR Whessoe Road shed that is to become the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust’s new headquarters (SR472).

A full 3D survey is to be undertaken to Network Rail standards to determine the topography of the site and where the proposed new-build workshop, carriage shed and turntable can be sited in relation to the existing fourroad building.

When the A1 Trust moves into Whessoe Road – scheduled around the time that its new-build ‘P2’ No. 2007 Prince of Wales is completed at the end of 2021 – it will vacate its current Darlington Locomotive Works in the former Hopetown carriage building, releasing this space potentially for other railway preservation uses. The vision, said trustee Mark Allatt, is to “create a lasting legacy” of the S&DR’s 200th anniversary, now just seven years away in 2025. “1825 marked the beginning of the modern world,” he commented. “It really is that significant, and Britain invented the modern world. We must celebrate it.”

●● Another 3D project, undertaken by North East-based scanning company C3Sixty, has created a virtual reality tour of Darlington

Locomotive Works, where ‘P2’ No. 2007 is under construction. The tour, which includes videos about the locomotive’s components, can be accessed via the project’s website at www.p2steam.com and includes support for VR headsets. The trust and C3Sixty are planning further such tours in the future, including a 360º video of a footplate ride on No. 60163 Tornado. ●● The Stockton & Darlington Railwaybuilt Skerne Bridge in Darlington, near North Road station and the A1 Trust’s current base, has been named by Historic England as one of the 100 most historically important structures in the country. Still part of the national network, it is the world’s oldest railway bridge

to have remained in continuous operation.