Wales celebrates the launch of Railway 200

Picture of Roger Smith

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Wales celebrates the launch of Railway 200

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Picture of Roger Smith

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Railway 200 logo. // Credit: Network Rail
Railway 200 logo. // Credit: Network Rail

A special event was held at the Vale of Rheidol Railway in Aberystwyth today, Thursday 23rd January, to mark the launch of in .

Today’s event, which commemorates the 200th anniversary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway, starts a year of events around the principality.

Although Railway 200 marks 200 years since September 27, 1825, when the first passenger train ran on the Stockton & Darlington Railway, Wales can rightly lay claim to a huge involvement in the build-up to that historic journey.

The days of steam. // Credit: Transport for Wales
The days of steam. // Credit: Transport for Wales

Twenty-one years before the historic Stockton & Darlington event, in 1804 Cornish engineer Richard Trevithick had designed the Pen-y-Darren locomotive that pulled ten tons of coal ten miles from the Pen-y-Darren Ironworks in Merthyr Tydfil to Abercynon.

Three years later, in 1807 the Swansea and Mumbles Railway opened as the world’s first railway to carry fare-paying passengers, but with horses pulling carriages along the railway tracks rather than locomotives.

Transport for Wales is now writing its own chapter in the history of railways with the electrification of the core valley lines in south-east Wales, construction of new stations and depots, and an £800 million investment in new trains.

A ndw depot for the South Wales Metro at Taffs Well. // Credit: Transport for Wales
The future – a new depot for the South Wales Metro. // Credit: Transport for Wales

Throughout the UK, Railway 200 will seek to explore the railway’s legacy in:

  • Skills and education.
  • Innovation, technology, and the environment.
  • Heritage, culture, and tourism.

More information about Railway 200 in Wales is online at https://tfw.wales/railway-200

Today’s event followed an earlier one at the Severn Valley Railway when around 100 heritage railway volunteers came together for a Railway 200 Get Together. Railway 200 is also being commemorated by the Royal Mint with the release of a special £2 coin.

Commemorative Railway 200 Coin - The Royal Mint
Commemorative Railway 200 coin. // Credit: The Royal Mint

Dr Louise Moon, Transport for Wales’ Railway 200 Programme Lead commented it was exciting to be showcasing Wales’ history as well as promoting the innovations that are taking place now.

“We’re incredibly excited to be sharing so much of our history across Wales within our communities, telling the stories of innovation, grit and determination. Railway 200 celebrates so much of our social and cultural history and how the railways transformed our country and made it what it is today. Towns like Aberystwyth grew massively with the arrival of the railway so it’s great to be launching the year of events here. We want to inspire a new generation not just with our proud history but through science, technology and innovation that is taking place right now as we are going through the next major transformation of our network which will connect future generations within Wales.”

Dr Louise Moon, Transport for Wales’ Railway 200 Programme Lead

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