2024’s Disability History Month theme is ‘Disability livelihood and employment’. This is directly relevant to the Railway Work, Life & Death project. As many of…
On 10 November 1840, a steam locomotive named ‘Surprise’ exploded in Bromsgrove. It killed its crew, Joseph Rutherford and Thomas Scaife. The incident might perhaps…
We know from the Railway Work, Life & Death project database that, on 11 November 1932, Southern Railway checker G Richardson was injured at Havant…
By now, hopefully you’ll be aware of ‘Railway 200’ – a partnership campaign marking 200 years of railway travel since the Stockton & Darlington Railway…
It’s not often there’s the chance to tell the story of an ordinary railway worker’s accident on a national platform. James Welland’s 1898 injury offered…
Next week we’re heading north – sufficiently so that there aren’t any railways that feature in the project. We’re off to Shetland and Orkney, off…
June 2024 saw the 40th anniversary of the closure of Shildon Works, in County Durham. The closure, in 1984, hit Shildon hard, with the loss…
Earlier this month, Darlington’s railway museum opened in its revamped and reimagined format: Hopetown. Previously known as Head of Steam, it occupies the site of…
In the UK, the heritage railway sector is an important contributor to public engagement with the past. We benefit from widespread public interest in the…
We’re delighted to welcome back the team from Head of Steam – Darlington Railway Museum, with more from their ‘On Track for Change’ exhibition. This…