Darlington’s Last Train Home Music and comedy festival was originally based in small venues close to Darlington station. The aim of its organisers, Tracks Darlington; a small local music collective, was to deliver a series of music and comedy gigs within walking distance of the station timed to finish in time for the ‘last train home’. It utilised pubs, shops, and even a church. Despite the setbacks of Covid pushing the experience online in previous years, in 2023 organisers aimed to make it bigger than ever with acts using the Forum music centre, Hullabaloo children’s theatre and Hippodrome theatre.

Our CRP wanted to help Tracks Darlington gain stronger links to the railway, attract more people to travel to the festival by train, and by holding an extra stage at the station; create a musical welcome to those arriving by train.

Tracks was also passionate about delivering an eco-friendly festival which would deliver social value, through its eco-friendly merchandise, listing local young acts, providing work opportunities to local young people, ensuring all venues are accessible and by signing up to the PRS’s key change scheme and working towards a 50% women and underrepresented genders in programming, staffing and beyond.

Our CRP began working with Tracks in January 2023, building connections with LNER and Northern and together agreed to help increase awareness of the festival, to attract more people to travel to it by train and to host a welcome stage at Darlington Station.

Funding from Community Rail Network’s Community Rail Development Fund (CRDF) enabled Tracks to increase marketing through social media activity, a blog and a zine produced by 14 local creatives. Festival posters were displayed at Bishop Line and Saltburn Line stations throughout August. Eco-friendly merchandise was sold at the event and all performers received branded water bottles to reduce waste. All venues were fully accessible and a bespoke chill out area was created for those needing a calmer environment, and performers access needs riders were all met.

Train strikes on the event day in 2023 meant that the station welcome stage had to be moved to the Hippodrome, that then created informal welcome and a great ‘shop window’ for passers-by. The expected number of attendees arriving by train was significantly lower than hoped but the potential for future years was very strong.

Excitement is building ahead of the return of Durham’s Lumiere festival this November, and this year the festival is coming to Bishop Auckland for the first time. 

The UK’s light art biennial will transform locations across Durham City and Bishop Auckland from Thursday 16 to Sunday 19 November.

The 2023 Lumiere programme, the most ambitious yet, includes 16 new commissions and seven UK debuts, ranging from local North East artists, schools and communities, as well as global artists prominent in the light art movement from 15 different countries.

The festival is commissioned and funded by Durham County Council, and produced by leading arts producers Artichoke.

For the first time this year, historic Bishop Auckland town centre will be part of the festival programme, with it providing the setting for four works. ‘Spotlight on Bishop Auckland’ is produced in partnership with The Auckland Project and supported by the Stronger Towns Fund.

Auckland Tower and the Spanish Gallery will both be illuminated as part of this year’s festival.

Spotlight on Bishop Auckland is produced in partnership with The Auckland Project and supported by Stronger Towns Fund.

Lumiere in Durham City runs from 4:30pm to 11pm each night and at Bishop Auckland from 5pm to 10pm. Tickets are only required to enter Durham City centre during peak hours between 4:30pm and 7:30pm. Everyone can enjoy Lumiere across the city without a ticket after this time.

Tickets are not required for Bishop Auckland at any time.

This FREE event with free parking can also be accessed using the warm and comfortable rail service on the Bishop Line. Remember the last train from Bishop Auckland to Darlington and Middlesbrough leaves at 21:26.

For full details of the programme and for further information on how to enjoy the festival, visit https://www.lumiere-festival.com/

New songs, poems and films by North East artists were launched in Darlington this week on Wednesday 27 September to mark the two year count down to the bicentenary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway.

The performance, titled ‘Storylines live’, took place at The Forum Music Centre and featured brand new material from artist residencies on board Northern train services between Bishop Auckland and Saltburn, along parts of the original The Stockton & Darlington Railway.

The new pieces celebrate stories of passenger travel and featured poems written and performed by Harry Gallagher, Rowan McCabe and Tees Women Poet’s Lizzie Lovejoy and Carmen Marcus. The night also included new songs by singer-songwriter Sam Slatcher.

Some of the stories gathered were turned into new short films produced by Lonely Tower Fim & Media. Watch the films here. These films featured stories of regular passengers, as well as the famous Rhyming Conductor, and local human rights campaigner Shams Abdou Moussa, a refugee from Niger. The films are “gorgeous moving-portraits of real people and their stories, giving fascinating glimpses inside the worlds of the passengers and the stories they carry with them!” according to poet Carmen Marcus.

Singer-songwriter and Storylines curator Sam Slatcher said “what’s unique about the Stockton & Darlington Railway is it began a revolution of passenger travel – from timetables to tickets, to moving people and ideas around, to literally changing the way the world runs. It’s incredible to think the whole concept of being a ‘rail passenger’ was first imagined here in the North East. These new pieces of work help people celebrate what it means to be a passenger and how our lives are changed by it”

Chair of Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership, Caroline Pearce says, “We’re so pleased to be working with all the creative partners on the Storylines project to help bring the 2025 celebration to the forefront of people’s minds and involve local people in preparing for this momentous celebration”.

Wednesday also saw the first look of the 2025 bicentenary festival named S&DR200, a nine month festival in 2025 that that will include rail journeys, exhibitions and arts projects. The artists from this project will be performing their new work across the North East over the next few years in the build up to bicentenary.

‘Storylines Live’ was hosted by Tracks, the not-for-profit music development organisation in Darlington, and the project was commissioned by North East social enterprise Citizen Songwriters in partnership with the Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership. The project is supported with funding from Northern, CrossCountry and the Community Rail Network.

Photography by Dave Charnley and Rob Irish

Bishop Line CRP are proud to support Last Train Home, multi-venue music & comedy festival in Darlington, finishing just in time to catch the Last Train Home, well last bus home this year!

Tracks Darlington’s flagship festival returns for its 6th year, bigger and better than ever.

Climb aboard for a full day of amazing independent music & comedy, across five stages, in three venues; the stunningly beautiful, iconic Darlington Hippodrome Theatre, The Forum Music Studios and The Hullabaloo – all accessible!

Date: Saturday 2nd September 2023

Venue: Darlington (Multiple Venues) in Darlington

Time: 1:00pm til 11:00pm

Minimum Age: 14+

Tickets can be bought here https://www.skiddle.com/whats-on/Darlington/Darlington-%28Multiple-Venues%29/Last-Train-Home-Festival-23/36337534/#tickets

Coming to you with the generous support of Arts Council England, Darlington Borough Council, Creative Darlington and the Department for Transport’s Community Rail Development Fund.

Event: ‘Storylines Live’ A night of poems, songs & films about life today along the world’s oldest public passenger railway.

Date: 27 September 2023, Doors 7, 7.30 – 10pm at The Forum Music Centre, Darlington

Description: Live poetry, songs and films from award winning poets, songwriters and filmmakers all about the passengers who travel today along the world’s first public passenger railway. The showcase event hosted by Tracks, the not-for-profit music development organisation in Darlington, will feature brand new material that has come out of a series of artist residencies on board Northern train services between Bishop Auckland and Saltburn, along parts of the original The Stockton & Darlington Railway. The event takes place on the 198th anniversary of this world-famous line, on 27 September 2023. Opened in 1825, the original line is the world’s first locomotive-powered public railway which changed the way the world trades, travels and communicates. Storylines is commissioned by North East social enterprise Citizen Songwriters CIC in partnership with the Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership. Tickets (£10 / £8 advanced) available via the The Forum Music Centre website: https://theforumonline.co.uk/events/tracks-citizen-songwriters-present-storylines-live/

More details:

Chair of Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership, Caroline Pearce, says

“The celebration of the 200th Anniversary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway is an extremely important event for the Bishop Line, being part of the original route. We’re so pleased to be working with all the creative partners on the Storylines project to help bring the 2025 celebration to the forefront of people’s minds and involve local people in preparing for this momentous celebration”.

The poets include Darlington-born Lizzie Lovejoy, writer, illustrator and storyteller, Saltburn based Carmen Marcus, author, poet and one of the Writer’s Guild of Great Britain’s recipients of the New Play Commission Scheme; Newcastle-based Rowan McCabe, “the world’s first Door-to door poet” and Harry Gallagher, Teesside-born poet and former ‘BBC Tees poet for National Poetry Day’. Sam Slatcher, singer-songwriter and curator of the Storylines project will be sharing songs from a new album he’s writing inspired by the railway’s stories of old and new and filmmakers from Lonely Tower will be showcasing films on individual stories from the railway.

Tracks co-founder Sarah Wilson says:

‘We are really excited to work with Sam to bring this event to The Forum Music Centre in Darlington. Supporting artists to devise new art, whatever the form, is very exciting and definitely makes us feel like we’re helping something special to be created with a strong nod towards celebrating our rich railway heritage. We run the Last Train Home Festival of music and comedy every September, with a launch event on Thurs 31st Aug, the festival day on Sat 2nd Sept and now this gorgeous event on Sept 27th to add to the programme it’s wonderful to have this event be a part of it this year and grow our circle with other creatives across the region”.

For Lizzie Lovejoy, writer and storyteller,

“there is something magical about this train journey. This line revolutionised the world of work and travel, providing opportunities for working-class people that didn’t rely on one town alone. It provided connection, between place and people. We are continuing that tradition”.

The project is supported with funding from Northern, Cross Country and the Community Rail Network.

Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership welcomes Caroline Pearce as its new Chairperson following the sad passing of Bob Whitehouse in November 2022.

Caroline has been linked with the partnership since 2016, working closely with Bob on the Our Line – theatre on trains project and later with the current officer Felicity on the Our Line Connections project, whilst managing Luxi – a not for profit production company. Together Luxi and the Bishop Line CRP achieved great success and their collaboration recognised in local and national awards. In 2022 Our Line Connections came 3rd place in the Community Rail Awards for Best project involving diverse groups, and in 2021 the double-act was shortlisted for Best Arts and Business Partnership at the Journal Culture Awards.

Felicity Machnicki – officer, Caroline Pearce – chairperson, Marie Addison – Northern customer & sustainability manager, Charlie Walton – vice chair.

Caroline now runs a coaching business and brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience of helping organisations and individuals to achieve their goals. She also has a great deal of knowledge of the Bishop Line area, the communities which it serves and the context of community rail.

Caroline is looking forward to working closely with partnership officer Felicity, vice chair Carlie Walton and the partnership steering group in the coming months, growing the membership of the partnership, attracting new and engaged members who have a passion for making things better for the local area and building connections with existing members.

It is an exciting time for the partnership as work continues on many projects in a variety of contexts;

The Bishop Line strongly promotes rail safety to young people in the area and hosted a rail safety day for local schools at Locomotion in May with representatives from Network Rail, British Transport Police, Northern, The Railway Children, Cross Country and LNER. The partnership were greatly encouraged by the level of support locally too from Weardale Railway and Tyne Valley CRP.

Progress continues on creative projects such as Storylines, where local musician Sam Slatcher, recognised for his links with the Story Train at Stanhope, is leading a group of artists to collect stories and memories from passengers on board the Bishop Line. These stories will be translated into music, poetry and a play to celebrate the significance of the Stockton & Darlington Railway in the run up to its 200th anniversary in 2025. A celebration event is planned for 27th September 2023, find out more here https://theforumonline.co.uk/events/tracks-citizen-songwriters-present-storylines-live/

The partnership is also building strong links with local attractions The Auckland Project, Locomotion and the Head of Steam Railway Museum in Darlington which will re-open in June, and with Northern to create rail products which make travelling by train attractive to more people.
And finally the partnership will welcome an additional officer in September who will focus on rail education with schools and community groups along the line.

If you would like to be involved in the exciting work that the Partnership does in the community along the Bishop Line between Bishop Auckland and Darlington please get in touch. enquiries@bishopline.org

Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership joined forces with rail industry partners to deliver a rail safety event for primary schoolchildren at the historic Locomotion museum in Shildon.

The event took place on Wednesday 24 and Thursday 25 May and saw 200 children from primary schools in Darlington and along the Bishop Line visit the iconic museum and learn all about railway safety.

The children took part in educational sessions and workshops which covered a wide range of topics. These included how to plan a journey and use trains safely, as well as how dangerous trespassing on the railway is and why it is really important never to do so.

They also designed rail safety graphics which will be entered into the Backtrack Anti-trespass competition, which is organised by the Community Rail Education Network and will be used in rail education lessons and assemblies across the country. The children also spent time exploring British Transport Police’s (BTP) and Network Rail’s operational vehicles, and observed a drone in operation. All of the sessions took place in and around Locomotion’s Main Hall, which houses historic rail vehicles.

The sessions were delivered by a range of rail industry partners, including Network Rail, BTP, Northern, The Railway Children Charity, CrossCountry and Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership.

The event was supported by volunteers from LNER, TransPennine Express, ISS, Tyne Valley Community Rail Partnership, Newcastle College’s Rail Academy and Weardale Railway.

Northern also arranged for some of the children to arrive and leave the venue by rail, helping them to gain experience of travelling on the railway, and to understand how the information which they have learned can be put into practice.

Rob Merry, Community Safety Manager for Network Rail’s East Coast route, said: “We’re really passionate about spreading the railway safety message, so we’re absolutely delighted to have taken part in this event.

“Over the past few days, the children have learned how to stay safe whilst travelling on trains, as well as the dangers which trespassing on the railway has. The event has been a great success, and we look forward to holding more days like this in the future, helping to reach even more children.”

Mary-Anne Snowdon, inspector for the BTP said: “What better venue to host this event than Shildon’s Locomotion Museum, where children can really get to grips with learning about the railway, as well as our vital safety messages.

“The children were incredibly receptive to the presentation and, with the help of our drone, really seemed to grasp the dangers of the railway and how to stay safe.

“Events like these are key to reaching a young audience and making railway safety lessons fun and accessible.”

Simon Heritage, Deputy Head at Gurney Pease Academy in Darlington said: “This was a fantastic day, superbly organised and thoroughly enjoyed by the pupils and staff. Hopefully we can come again next year. Many thanks to all involved.”

Felicity Machnicki, Officer for the Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership said “It was fantastic to host this event with the support of so many partners from the rail industry, It shows how well the industry can work together to have an positive impact on our young people along the Bishop Line.

“ The schoolchildren were able to see just how important rail safety is to everyone who works on the railway and that we’re all here to help our young people grow up to be safe and confident rail users.

“We look forward to organising another event in our area and welcome more schools to take part.”

For sanctuary seekers living in Stockton, Monday’s Coronation Bank Holiday was celebrated with a liberating day out to the countryside, with a trip all the way from Stockton to Stanhope, via the Weardale Railway.

Their trip, which took place on the ‘Big Help Out’, was organised by Citizen Songwriters as part of their new Storylines initiative with the Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership to bring artists and local communities together using the train to celebrate the region’s rail heritage.

The group of 10 from Stockton Baptist Church began their journey on the 10.31 Northern service from Thornaby to Bishop Auckland, connecting with the 11.30 Bishop Auckland West to Stanhope on a heritage train run by Weardale Railway.

At Stanhope Station, they jumped on The Story Train, Citizen Songwriters’ new community arts initiative, a first class buffet car that once belonged to LNER’s High Speed Train stock. On The Story Train, the group sang songs and shared stories of their most memorable journeys, from fleeing life-threatening situations to finding friendships in the North East.

For many in the group it was the first time visiting the English countryside. The group consisted of people from Senegal, DRC, Cameron, Niger, Pakistan, Albania and Iran who have all come to live in Stockton, seeking sanctuary from war, political conflict and other dangerous situations.

Not dampened by the drizzling weather, everybody’s spirits were high as the group continued to sing on the station platform, delighting other passengers. They continued to sing on the train back to Bishop Auckland and met with the Bishop of Durham who this week has been raising concerns in the House of Lords about the Government’s Migration Bill and the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers, particularly children and pregnant women.

Katharine Lam, the group lead, said “the day provided a wonderful opportunity for the sanctuary seekers to forget their stressful situation and enjoy the moment, meet new people, practice and learn English, visit a beautiful area, travel on the trains and express themselves creatively which is great for their wellbeing and cultural integration”

For Anxhela, a sanctuary seeker, “this was a new experience for me, I learnt more about the railways, enjoyed the countryside views, a wonderful journey that I wouldn’t have had the chance to do ordinarily”.

The trip was supported by Northern and Weardale Railway.

Try the Train is a new project which is fully funded by Northern Trains.

Working in collaboration with partners across the Northern network Bishop Line CRP are building a programme of sessions to help people feel more confident travelling by train.

The idea is that we will assist and accompany groups on a series of rail journeys, all of which will be supported by journey planning sessions that incorporate other forms of sustainable travel to and from the railway stations.

The aim is to enable increased independence amongst the participants.

Over a series of sessions the participants will become less supported by our Try The Train trainers and enjoy more independence.

We want to help reduce anxiety so each journey undertaken will be accompanied by a tailored information pack with details of routes and timings.

This will involve 4 workshop sessions with your group tailored to their needs but with themes of rail safety, how to use the trains, how to plan a journey and being able to do this independently by the 3rd workshop and journey but with me there as support.  Then each workshop will be followed by a journey on the trains. To find out more or register your group please follow the link to the official Try The Train website.

trythetrain.org.uk