Hopetown Darlington heading for July opening
THE £35 million Hopetown Darlington railway heritage centre is set to open in mid-July in time for the school summer holidays.
As highlighted in issue 313, the Northgate venue encompasses both purpose-built and heritage buildings, including North Road Station Museum (formerly the Head of Steam Darlington Railway Museum) into a major family attraction which is expected to bring more than 300,000 visitors each year.
Onsite partners include The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, which is already occupying the new custombuilt Darlington Locomotive Works, and in which visitors can see staff and volunteers at work. The Darlington Railway Preservation Society and the North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group have also moved into the newly-restored 1861 shed.
The museum will highlight the history of Stockton & Darlington
Railway through traditional and brand-new immersive interpretations, interacting with historic figures including George Stephenson and Joseph Pease. A new feature in the museum is Experiment!, an immersive time travel ride exploring Darlington’s influence on railways around the world from 1825 and into the future.
Broad appeal
An ever-changing programme of exhibitions and events will be staged all year round in The Carriage Works, and the Stores will allow visitors to interact with items and objects relating to the S&DR and local railway heritage not on display in the museum.
The site will feature Wagon Woods, a railway-themed outdoor adventure playpark, based on the Brusselton Incline with walkways, bridges, slides, and a multi-level play structure.
The entrance to Darlington Hopetown railway heritage centre’s main building is almost complete. DBC
Visitors will be able to arrive at North Road station by train.
Darlington Borough Council’s head of heritage and culture, Mike Crawshaw, said that the museum was “on track” for a mid-July opening.
“It’s a live station, and that’s part of the beauty and appeal of the site, because you can sit and have a coffee and, as well as celebrating the history of the site, you’ve got the Bishop Line passing alongside parallel.”