Record #00444Transport archive
On 27 September 1825, Locomotion No. 1 hauled a train carrying passengers at the opening of Britain's Stockton and Darlington Railway. It was a pioneering steam-hauled public-railway passenger journey, while regular passenger services were mainly horse-drawn in the following years.
Achievement date
1825
1825-09-27
The railway was built primarily to move coal from Durham collieries toward the River Tees, linking Shildon, Darlington and Stockton.
Its inaugural train was hauled by a locomotive designed by George Stephenson, but routine passenger coaches were largely horse-drawn and operated by contractors in the following years.
The record is therefore for the first steam-hauled passenger journey on a public railway, not the first fully steam-operated scheduled passenger service.
The record conclusion has sufficient verification support.
Basis: direct confirmation by an authority
Historic England documents an opening-day locomotive-hauled train carrying about 600 passengers, while cautioning that railway 'firsts' depend on definitions. This entry concerns the inaugural public-railway steam-hauled passenger journey, not subsequent scheduled steam passenger operations.
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