Celebrate 200 Years of Railway History!
In 1825, the Stockton & Darlington Railway opened the world’s first passenger railway station on Tuesday 27th September — a milestone that transformed travel forever. Steam locomotives carried passengers and goods at unprecedented speed, sparking a transport revolution that connected towns, boosted industry, and shaped modern Britain.
This special SideTracked Railway 200 event at Shildon is part of a nationwide celebration running from Wednesday 24th to Tuesday 30th September 2025. All finds and hides from this event count towards your SideTracked statistics, and a unique profile badge will be created especially for this event. Whether your chosen location is old, disused, miniature, or still bustling today, it’s part of a railway story that’s been 200 years in the making.
COMMUNITY CELEBRATION EVENT (CCE) - RAILWAYS 200
DATE: 30/08/2025
TIME: 12.00 to 14.00 hrs
Reason: To celebrate 200 years of British railways and the visit of Flying Scotsman to Shildon
Venue: Opposite Timothy Hackworth House, Shildon
The Romans may have given us roads, indoor sanitation and central heating but they didn't give us the railways. That was George Stephenson and his brother Robert with the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
2025 is the 200th anniversary of the birth of the modern Railway. Britain and the world changed forever.
FLYING SCOTSMAN
KEY FACTS
- Built in 1923 at Doncaster Works, costing £7,944
- Weight: 97 tonnes
- Length: 70ft
- Officially the first locomotive to reach 100mph, and the first to circumnavigate the globe
- Holds the world record for a non-stop run in a steam locomotive, set in 1989 with a 422-mile trip
Community Celebration Events - 2025
This Event is part of a limited release of Community Celebration Events to celebrate 25 years of geocaching. Geocachers hosted events between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025. Learn more about Community Celebration Events on the Geocaching Blog.