The original line is probably most famous as being the world’s first public railway to use steam locomotives when they were first introduced in 1833.The area was linked with a prestigious and long list of railway heritage, with several railway-related works and engineering facilities to be found throughout the network.
Shildon Railway Works, known locally as ‘The Wagon Works’ as it built many of British Rail’s freight revenue vehicles, is also a famous landmark in the area, closing only recently in 1984 and now home to ‘Locomotion’, the National Railway Museum’s second site.The broad network of railway lines connected some of the north east’s largest town and cities with collieries across the Pennines, with the first line opening in 1825 that connected the collieries near Shildon with Stockton-on-Tees via Darlington.Towns such as Crook, Tow Law, Barnard Castle, Piercebridge and Bishop Auckland – once bustling railway towns – lost their stations and trackbed lifted, and today visitors to the area would never believe they once had such a rich railway heritage. Train Simulator’s Steam Workshop scenarios are free and easy to download, adding many more hours of exciting gameplay.