On the 27th of September 1825, No1 “Locomotion” spearheaded the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, becoming the first steam locomotive in the world to haul passengers on a public railway. “Locomotion” made the 8 & 1/2 mile journey from Shildon to Darlington, hauling a load in excess of 75 tons and roughly 400 feet in length, before taking an altered consist on toward Stockton; marking the beginning of a new era.
2025 marks the 200th anniversary of this event, widely considered to be ‘the birth of the modern railway’, with numerous events across the UK being organised under the banner of ‘Railway 200’ to help celebrate this historical milestone. The first event held under this banner, would be a global ‘Whistle-Up’ on the 1st of January; featuring over 50 heritage railways, and mainline operators, all sounding whistles and horns at 12:00 midday in unison.
The Swanage Railway in Dorset would demonstrate their contribution to the ‘Whistle-Up’ in style, with T3 Class - 563 taking centre stage on the Purbeck branch line, before the strike of midday and a medley of whistling commenced; well received by the watching ensemble. At the Didcot Railway Centre, 'Large Prairie' Class - 4144 would do the honours, while ‘Black 5’ - 45212 would fill the role at the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway. At the Bluebell Railway, 72 “Fenchurch” would be one of three locomotives taking part, bellowing its chime whistle at Horsted Keynes. After the ‘Whistle-Up’, 563 would provide an encore at Swanage before departing with a service to Norden.
Locomotives:
LSWR T3 Class - 563
GWR 5101 'Large Prairie' Class - 4144
Ex-LMS 'Black 5' Class 5MT - 45212
LB&SCR A1X 'Terrier' Class - 72 "Fenchurch"
00:00 - Opening
00:09 - Swanage Railway
00:36 - Didcot Railway Centre
00:53 - Keighley & Worth Valley Railway
01:10 - Bluebell Railway
01:27 - 563 Swanage
01:44 - 4144 Didcot
01:51 - 45212 Haworth
01:58 - 72 Horsted Keynes
02:05 - 563 Swanage
Footnote: A thank you must be given to the following people for their contributions to this video:
Billy Johnson and Aidan Strand, the locomotive crew of 563.
Ben Dolman, responsible Officer at the Swanage Railway on the day.
Southern Steam Lad Photography, footage from the Didcot Railway Centre.
@BrickishRail, footage from the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, and the opening B-roll clip.
Midwinter Photography, additional footage from the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway.
@chaileystowe3026, footage from the Bluebell Railway.
@frontlinesteam, file conversions for use in this video.
All footage filmed on Wednesday the 1st of January 2025.