This artwork is one of the top 20 UK railway artworks voted for by the public as part of Railway 200.

In 1825 a small steam locomotive spluttered and wobbled its way along a bit of railway track in County Durham. George Stephenson's latest innovation – largely crafted from iron and wood and later known as 'Locomotion No.1' – was the machine, and it drew crowds of thousands.

That in itself wasn't news – after all, steam locos had been spluttering and wobbling on rails since at least 1804, and by 1825 quite a number were doing that right across the north east of England. They were fuelled by coal, the thing they were also designed to haul along, in wagons behind.

That there were some 400 or so passengers aboard this already-downhill-trundling train wasn't a landmark moment either, for there had been passengers taken by rail before. Notably in South Wales on the Oystermouth Railway from 1807, albeit hauled by horses. And even by steam loco as early as 1804 (unofficially) on the Pen-y-darren Tramway near Merthyr in 1804, or officially at Richard Trevithick's 'Steam Circus' in Bloomsbury, London from 1808.

1809, ink and watercolour by Thomas Rowlandson (1757–1827)

But, on 27th September 1825, what is considered to have been the world's first steam-hauled passenger train on a public railway – the Stockton & Darlington Railway – ran. So, whilst there were passenger trains, public railways, iron rails and steam locomotives all before that point, the singular event of this train on the S&D marks their coming together as one, for what is generally considered to have been for the first time.

Many people argue over the significance of 27th September 1825. The reality is, like many other events in history, it is just one waymark in a constant of time and neverending change. If one looks at the immediate effects of this trip (the one portrayed in Cuneo's painting and the one which all Railway 200, Rail 150 and Railway Centenary events are based on) then it is probably fair to say that they are limited at best. That trip in and of itself did not cause a railway revolution.

The Opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, 1825

From the moment the one-way trip was over, the S&D Railway Company had its eye on profit, not innovation and some sort of notion of progress for humanity. Those passengers who rode down to the town of Stockton aboard wagons that day learned this lesson fast for once they arrived at the river port, had to find their own way back home. And either that night or the next day, it was going to be by foot or on road.

Freight didn't fare too much better: it was soon found that the locomotives were costly to run and of questionable ability, so horses once again became the mainstay of motive power.

So why has this event become so important? Why did Terence Cuneo end up painting this hugely exciting dramatisation of a September day in 1825, if it was really not that significant?

The answer is that it has become significant culturally, if not scientifically. Some might argue that the event was the 'birth' of passenger train travel, even though provably, it was not. The Stockton and Darlington Railway is cited often and variously as the world's first railway, first passenger railway, first modern railway, first steam hauled passenger railway, first public railway, first steam railway... or similar. In reality, it never was any of those things.

Opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, 1825, from a Sketch by the Artist

The story of why Stockton and Darlington's opening in 1825 is commemorated – rather than so many other milestone events, or coming together of various nuanced particular 'firsts' is an interesting one. To cut a long story short, it is largely down to a decision made by the S&Ds earliest promoters to celebrate the railway's 50th anniversary in 1875 locally – and a journalist at time was able to weave a story of specific 'firsts' in combination to give the S&D prominence in historical narratives.

So it followed that in 1925 the LNER – who by then had swallowed up the successor company of the Stockton and Darlington – celebrated 'THE RAILWAY CENTENARY', creating quite a stir nationally and internationally. It was notable that the rival LMS held the 'Centenary Celebrations of the Liverpool and Manchester' soon after in 1930, giving a double-whammy of positive PR by focusing on the significance of that railway, which was now part of the LMS empire.

This painting from 1975 is a perhaps similarly fanciful depiction of 'Rocket' travelling on the Liverpool & Manchester Railway.

'Rocket' on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway

In 1975 British Rail took what was 'S&D150' nationwide to become Rail150, enabling a UK-wide programme of activities and events promoting the modern era railway and its engineering innovation built on a strong heritage of British-built steam. This painting by Terence Cuneo was commissioned as part of that year-long gala of all things railway.

It is a fanciful depiction: there are precious few records of what actually happened that day which were created at the time. Almost everything visual is a work from a later date: and that, surprisingly, includes the locomotive itself.

Unknown to Cuneo – and to most – the locomotive shown in the painting is not the engine which pulled the first train on that auspicious day. Yes, the 'Locomotion No.1' shown in the painting is the one that had been 'restored' and plinthed since 1857, then restored to run with an internal combustion engine in a tender for the 1925 celebrations, plinthed again and then displayed in various locations.

But it has been proven by forensic-level industrial archaeology and analysis that the collection of bits reassembled in 1857 contains not a single part which is old enough to have been present on the 1825 machine. In fact the machine on the opening day was not called 'Locomotion No.1', and whilst it did look fairly like the Victorian-era reconstruction, it did not have the Hackworth style wheels and it did not have the same parallel motion.

It was, however, vaguely like that. And there probably were onlookers who looked vaguely like that, and passengers who travelled vaguely like that, too.

Does it matter that it is vague, selective and perpetuating myths? Does it need to be corrected? Maybe we can just enjoy it for what it is – a celebration of something fascinating, wonderful, thrilling and historic – a useful milestone to grab in the clouds of the ever-distancing past.

Tim Dunn, writer

This content was funded by Railway 200

About Railway 200

Railway 200 is a cross-industry, UK Government-backed, partner-led celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of the modern railway, commemorating the opening by George Stephenson of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in the North East of England in 1825, a journey that changed the world forever. It explores the past, present and future of rail, and how it has shaped our lives and livelihoods. Numerous activities and events are planned throughout 2025, many of which are listed at www.railway200.co.uk