Stockton and Darlington Railway - Planning and Construction

Planning and Construction

The necessity of an efficient transport network for County Durham had been realised as far back as 1767 by George Dixon and other coalmine operators. Loads of coal and iron ore had been moved by horse and cart over great distances to the nearest port. Various schemes were proposed, the most practical having been a system of canals. This was shelved because of the enormous cost and rivalry between various towns, all of whom wanted to be included in the route.

Conceived by wealthy local wool merchant Edward Pease, the S&DR was authorised by Parliament in 1821 and was initially intended to be an ordinary horse-drawn plateway, which were then commonplace in the United Kingdom. However, George Stephenson had been perfecting his engines at Killingworth for about seven years and had built the Hetton colliery railway. With the help of his manager from Killingworth colliery, Nicholas Wood, he persuaded Edward Pease, on the day that the Act received Royal Assent, to allow him to resurvey the route and work it, at least partly, by steam.

Accordingly, a new Act of Parliament was obtained approving Stephenson's changes to the route and a clause added to permit the use of "loco-motive or moveable engines". This latter clause narrowly escaped being struck out of the bill because of officials not understanding the meaning. The bill also included provisions for transporting passengers although, at the time, they were regarded as little more than a sideline. John Lambton, later Earl of Durham, inserted a stipulation limiting the charge for coal to Stockton-on-Tees for shipment to ½d per ton per mile compared with 4d for land sale to protect his own exports from Sunderland. Ironically this formed a vital element in the success of the railway.

Stephenson had given up on the "steam springs" that were proving unsuccessful at Hetton, but retained other improvements, such as the direct connection of the pistons by crank rods, though the wheels were coupled by gears. He also made improvements to the track to overcome the problems with settling of the stone blocks on which they were laid and used T-section malleable iron in fifteen foot lengths, for the rails, pioneered by John Birkinshaw at Bedlington Ironworks in 1820.

Initially Stephenson's son Robert assisted him, but then went to join William James in surveying a proposed new line between Liverpool and Manchester. George and Robert, with Edward Pease and Michael Longridge (owner of Bedlington Ironworks) together established a company at Newcastle-on-Tyne, to manufacture locomotives, which became Robert Stephenson and Company.

The line was twenty six miles in total, with two cable-worked inclines at the western end, joined by a short horse-worked section. From Shildon the line was relatively level through Darlington to Stockton. The line's structures included one of the first railway bridges. Designed by architect Ignatius Bonomi, the so-called 'first railway architect', the Skerne Bridge in Darlington is the oldest railway bridge still in use today. From 1990 until 2003, the bridge appeared on the reverse of Series E £5 notes issued by the Bank of England which featured George Stephenson. The bridge is shown with a train hauled by Locomotion No 1 crossing it.

S&DR's track gauge was required to accommodate the horse-drawn wagons used in the older wagonways serving coal mines. Originally designed to a 56 inch width, an additional half-inch was later added to reduce friction. This influence appears to be the main reason that 1435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) was subsequently adopted as standard gauge.