September at Hopetown Darlington is going full steam ahead, with a month-long festival celebrating the railway story that began in this part of the North East more than 200 years ago.
The free S&DR201 Steam Festival runs from 5 to 27 September, bringing together historic locomotives, engineering, live performance and hands-on across a series of weekends.
The opening weekend on 5 and 6 September includes the Memory of a Journey: Final Station exhibition and rides behind a replica Locomotion No.1. On the Sunday, visitors can also get access to the cab of a Class 37 locomotive.
The programme grows again on 19 September, when miniature steam train rides, The Lost Luggage Porters theatre group and North Tyneside Steel Band join the railway attractions. Replica Locomotion No.1 rides and Class 37 cab access continue across the weekend.
The final weekend, 26 and 27 September, puts the engineering centre stage. Visitors can see a line-up of locomotives and heritage railway vehicles, explore passenger coaches and get access to Darlington Locomotive Works and the 1861 Shed workshops. The festival finishes with Tornado steam rides on Sunday 27 September.
General festival admission is free, although some activities, including steam and miniature train rides, carry a separate charge. Hopetown says the programme is designed to celebrate the continuing story of the Stockton & Darlington Railway and the engineering legacy it created.
The festival runs at Hopetown Darlington, McNay Street, from 10am to 4pm on its advertised dates. Full daily programmes and booking information are available from Hopetown’s official website.