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   Hopetown Darlington within County Durham | |
Former names | Head of Steam Railway Museum (2008-2022),Darlington Railway Centre and Museum (1975-2007) |
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| Established | 16th July 2024 |
| Location | McNay Street,Darlington,County Durham, DL3 6SW |
| Type | Visitor Attraction |
| Visitors | 210,000 (July 2024-July 2025) |
| Owner | Darlington Borough Council |
| Nearest car park | Skerne Bridge Car Park |
| Website | www |
Hopetown Darlington is a railway-themed visitor attraction inDarlington that opened in July 2024.
The attraction explores and promotes Darlington's pioneering railway heritage, and at the same time serves as a community hub hosting large scale events, activities and festivals.
It is located on the 1825 route of theStockton and Darlington Railway, which was the world's first steam-powered passenger railway and shares a site withNorth Road railway station.
The origins of the attraction begin in 1975 when the rarely used and heavily vandalised North Road Railway Station was transformed into the original North Road Station Museum[clarification needed] to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway. The original station was opened on 27 September 1975 byPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
After 32 years of operation, the museum was closed in 2007 for the £1.7 million refurbishment into theHead of Steam Darlington Railway Museum.
The museum was previously known asHead of Steam Darlington Railway Museum (2008-2022) andDarlington Railway Centre and Museum (1975-2007).
In 2022, plans were submitted to expand the former Head of Steam Railway museum as part of a new Railway Heritage Quarter to celebrate the bicentenary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway in 2025.[1] In December 2022, the museum temporarily closed its doors to undergo a £37 million redevelopment into a new visitor attraction.
In October 2023, the official name of the Rail Heritage Quarter was revealed asHopetown Darlington, after the area of Darlington in which it is situated, which is so named due to the location of the historicHopetown Carriage Works and Hope Town Foundry.[2] Hopetown Darlington opened to the public in July 2024.
In September 2025 a replica Locomotion No. 1 recreating the original Stockton and Darlington Railway run for the 200th anniversary ended its first day of the journey 3 day run at the museum at having previously stopped atDarlington station[3][4][5]
The attraction is spread across 7.5 acres of heritage railway land and is a mix of both indoor and outdoor attractions. The main features of the attraction include:
Hopetown Darlington displays the following locomotives across the site:
| Number & Name | Year | Description | Livery | History | Image | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Replica Locomotion No.1 | 1975 | Replica S&DR 0-4-0 | N/A | The replicaLocomotion No. 1 was built in 1975 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway. Previously based atBeamish Museum, the replica was restored to working order in time for the 200th anniversary in 2025.[6][7][8] | .jpg) | 1861 Shed |
| No. 25Derwent | 1845 | S&DR 0-6-0 | Green | No. 25Derwent was designed byTimothy Hackworth and built byWilliam and Alfred Kitching for use on the Stockton and Darlington Railway. It spent many years on display at Darlington Bank Top station before being put on display in North Road Station Museum.[9] | .jpg) | North Road Station Museum |
| No. 1463 | 1885 | NER 1463 (LNER E5) 2-4-0 | NER Apple Green | Designed byHenry Tennant andThomas W. Worsdell for use on express trains. It spent a large portion of its preserved career on display at the National Railway Museum. | _Head_of_Steam%2c_Darlington_30.06.2009_P6300112_(10192722204).jpg) | North Road Station Museum |
| No. D6898 | 1964 | BR Class 37 Co-Co | BR Green | No. D6898 (TOPS 37198) was designed byEnglish Electric and built at theirRobert Stephenson and Hawthorns works in Darlington. It was the final locomotive built at the works before its closure. It was withdrawn from service in 1999 and preserved before being resold toNetwork Rail in 2008. After being used as a spares donor for other class members, it was donated to the museum in August 2021.[10] |  | Foundry Green |
