On 27 September 1825, the Stockton and Darlington Railway opened in north-east England. George Stephenson drove the steam locomotive Locomotion No. 1 on the opening journey, hauling goods and passengers.

The railway ran for about 26 miles between the coalfield around Shildon and Stockton-on-Tees, through Darlington. Its main purpose was commercial. It needed to move coal from the collieries to the River Tees more cheaply and efficiently. Businessman Edward Pease was a leading figure behind the project, while George Stephenson was appointed the railway’s engineer.

The opening train was not yet the passenger system that later generations would recognise. Locomotion No. 1 hauled wagons carrying coal, flour and passengers. A purpose-built passenger carriage called Experiment was included, while many other people travelled in wagons.

Large crowds gathered along the route. Steam locomotives did not immediately take over all traffic on the line. Horses continued to haul some trains, and the railway’s early operation combined older methods with the new technology.

On 27 September, a steam locomotive hauled freight and passengers over a public railway built for regular commercial use. The Stockton and Darlington Railway provided practical evidence of what locomotive railways could do before Britain’s railway network rapidly expanded in the following decades.