As the North East steams ahead to the bicentenary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway in 2025, local artists have begun gathering stories from today’s passengers and why the railway matter.

On Thursday 20th April, four of the six artist from the ‘Storylines’ project boarded the 09:55 from Darlington to Saltburn to launch a new initiative taking place this summer. Their journeys will follow the route of the Stockton & Darlington Railway as they chat to passenger and collect stories from those who use the line regularly to those visiting from afar. 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.

The artists are seeking to capture the everyday stories of why people travel, passengers’ most memorable train travel stories and how they feel about riding along the route of the oldest locomotive-hauled passenger railway.

Storylines is commissioned by North East social enterprise Citizen Songwriters CIC in partnership with the Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership.

The Bishop Line’s Felicity Machnicki 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 artists include writer, illustrator and storyteller Lizzie Lovejoy who translates local narratives into poems; Carmen Marcus, author, poet and one of the Writer’s Guild of Great Britain’s recipients of the New Play Commission Scheme; Rowan McCabe, Newcastle based poet and “the world’s first Door-to-door poet”; Harry Gallagher, Teesside born poet and former ‘BBC Tees poet for National Poetry Day’; Becci Sharrock, writer, theatre maker and creative producer and former writer-in-residence at Beamish Museum; and Sam Slatcher, singer-songwriter and
one of the founders of Citizen Songwriters and The Story Train, a creative arts train carriage in the Durham Dales.

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”

Becci Sharrock, who is using her residency to develop a modern adaption of the Railway Children, remarked, “in a short space of time it was really clear how evocative train journeys are for people and how many memories are attached to this kind of transport”.

The creative output of the artists will be showcased at events marking the anniversary of the railway in September. Some of the poems will be appearing at the stations along the Bishop Auckland to Saltburn route.
Lizzie again: “Conversation is connection, and this first day of story sharing has shown just how important our words are”. For Becci, “it’s only day one and it already feels like a really special project to be a part of – I can’t wait to see where it takes us.”

The Auckland Project has launched a special Annual Pass discount for visitors travelling to Bishop Auckland by rail, to coincide with the Bishop Auckland Food Festival Weekend from 22-23 April 2023.

Rail travellers can enjoy 10% off the cost of a full-price Annual Pass at The Auckland Project on presentation of a valid rail ticket, which must be shown on arrival at any of The Auckland Project’s visitor attractions.

The Auckland Project Annual Pass costs £25 for adults, £12.50 for children, £37.50 for a family with one adult and £62.50 for a family with two adults. Up to four children can gain entry with a family pass and children under 5 go free.

To receive the discount, visitors must present:

• A Weardale Railway ticket, valid for any destination along the Weardale Railway line and for any travel date (including past or future travel)
• OR a rail ticket (either digital or paper) issued by an approved operator, valid for travel on the same date as the Annual Pass is being purchased with Bishop Auckland as the end destination.

This offer is only available in person and can be redeemed at Auckland Tower, Auckland Castle, the Spanish Gallery or the Mining Art Gallery.

Edward Perry, CEO of The Auckland Project, said: “The railway station in Bishop Auckland is a great asset for the town, connecting Bishop Auckland with the East Coast mainline at Darlington as well as linking Bishop Auckland with communities in the Durham Dales via Weardale Railway.

“We hope that many visitors will take advantage of this offer by travelling to Bishop Auckland by rail and exploring The Auckland Project’s diverse range of attractions.”

The special discount for rail travellers will run until further notice.

The offer does not apply to the already discounted local annual pass for DL4 and DL14 postcodes.

Are you looking for a career change?

Do you have a passion for teaching and are you open to delivering education in a different way?

Do you thrive on developing life skills and confidence in our young people?

This job could be just what you’re looking for.

The Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership are seeking to recruit a Rail Education Officer to deliver a programme of skills, awareness and confidence sessions in schools and community settings along the rail line from Darlington to Bishop Auckland part-time over a 2-year period.

The successful applicant will deliver sessions working in collaboration with rail industry partners such as Network Rail, British Transport Police and Northern.

The role will be supported locally by the Bishop Line’s Community Rail Officer and by colleagues around the country who are very supportive of each other and working towards a joined up message to build confidence in rail travel and keep young people safe on the railways.

This role is expected to be delivered 18.5 hours per week between Mon-Fri 09:00-15:00, but there may be occasional weekend work.

If you think this is a challenge you’re up for please read the full job description and person specification.

Rail Education Officer (2 Year FTC – Hosted on behalf Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership) – Darlington Borough Council – North East Jobs

In April a collection of bright and characterful artwork have been placed at the stations along our line.

The illustrations by Lizzie Lovejoy are all part of a creative project called Trailways: The start of Our Journey which was supported by the Culture County initiative, the legacy of the Durham 2025 Campaign.

You can see more of the fab images on the stations and on the Trailways project page.

Bishop Auckland Station and Weardale Railway Connecting Path Opening Event

On Monday 3^rd April, the rail industry and its stakeholders came together to celebrate the connection of three communities by means of a new pathway.

The new path at Bishop Auckland station makes is easier and safer for passengers to access Weardale Railway services whether arriving on a Bishop Line train from Darlington or using Bishop Auckland as a terminus. As a result the communities of Weardale, Bishop Auckland and Darlington are better connected to each other by rail.

The event was attended by His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of County Durham, Mrs Sue Snowdon: Peter, Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill, Chair of Network Rail; Jonathan Ruffer, Founder of The Auckland Project; and representatives from the rail industry and local communities.

His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of County Durham, Mrs Sue Snowdon said “I was delighted to be asked to formally open the new path at Bishop Auckland Station which makes it easier to access the Weardale Railway services. I was joined by Peter, Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill, Chair of Network Rail; Jonathan Ruffer, of the Auckland project and representatives from the rail industry; local civic representatives; members of the local communities and the Railway Youth Team who were first class. The path provides an accessible route from the Bishop Line to the Weardale Railway services allowing passengers with buggies, wheelchairs or cycles to interchange with greater ease. We have many hidden gems in County Durham, the Weardale Railway and the stunning scenery in Weardale is most definitely one.”  

This project has been joint funded by Network Rail, The Department for Transport’s Community Rail Development Fund through the Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership, Weardale Railway Ltd and Weardale Railway Trust.

Peter, Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill, Chair of Network Rail and the Railway Heritage Association, said: “The heritage of our railways – particularly in the North East – is hugely significant and it’s vital for attracting tourism and supporting economies. Making railway heritage accessible to more people is something I am deeply passionate about and I’m delighted that by working collaboratively, this new pathway has re-opened the route to the Weardale Railway that will allow even more people to visit this fantastic attraction.”

The project reinstates the historic platform link between the end of the Bishop Auckland station platform where Northern services arrive from the Bishop Line, and the Weardale Railway platform where services depart for Stanhope. It was the original east to west platform of the former triangular Bishop Auckland station.

Jonathan Ruffer, Founder of the Auckland Project, said “I see this walkway as a marriage between the Weardale Railway and the National Railway Network, with Bishop Auckland at the heart of it, exactly where it should be.”

David Maddan, Chair Weardale Railway Ltd comments “This infrastructure work is of great significance for passengers using both Northern and Weardale Railway services. I am grateful to all who have helped make it possible.”

The previous walking route was a deterrent to more vulnerable members of the community such as the elderly, passengers with reduced mobility and families with small children, due to the dark environment and changes of levels. The old route forced passengers to make a lengthy walk via an uneven, unlit, narrow footpath and a busy service road serving the rear of a DIY store and the town’s post office depot. By linking the two platforms directly we aimed to make the interchange more accessible to all passengers.

Brian Barnsley, Head of Support and Development at Community Rail Network, said: “We are so pleased to have supported through the Community Rail Development Fund the Weardale Railway and Bishop Line CRP pathway project at Bishop Auckland Station. Linking Community Rail with Heritage Railways is so important, especially with the rise in leisure travel. This new pathway will provide an accessible route for passengers of all ages and abilities, in turn creating a safer and more integrated travel experience.”    

Students from two North-east colleges came together to celebrate the winners of the ‘Backtrack’ anti-rail-trespass competition.

Prizes were awarded to students of two winning groups who created engaging short films pledging to not trespass on the railway. The films have been collated into a Backtrack film which will be used in schools and groups across the country to encourage others to stay safe on the railway.  The Backtrack film and a full list of winners can be viewed on the competition website www.backtrackcompetition.co.uk

Students from the two winning groups represented two unique colleges in the region; UTC (University Technical College) South Durham, a STEM-focused technical college for 14-19 year-olds located on Aycliffe Business Park; and Newcastle College’s Rail and Civil Engineering Academy in, Felling, Gateshead, which is a one of a kind training facility for students aged 16 and upwards with a focus on track maintenance and railway engineering.

At the celebration event, on Tuesday 31^st January the teenage STEM enthusiasts enjoyed a full day at the rail training facility where they took part in activities to build and reflect on their employability skills.

Year 10 and 11 students from South Durham travelled by train and Metro to Felling, some experiencing the Tyne & Wear Metro for the first time. They were then buddied up with year 12 Rail students from Newcastle to carry out the skills building activities together.

Representatives from the rail industry were on hand to assess the teens and reflect back their observations. Students were praised for their respect for each other, effective communication, good team work, imagination, improvisation and adaptability.

Lesley Moore Head of Transport at the Newcastle College commented, “The Academy were proud to host the Backtrack awards, the students from UTC South Durham spent the day with our subsidiary diploma rail students taking part in fun activities. It was a really well planned day focusing on the safety aspects of day-to-day railway usage. A huge thanks to everyone involved in the event and a massive congratulations to the two winning groups.

Catherine Purvis-Mawson, Deputy Principal at UTC South Durham commented, “A lot of our students travel to us by train so knowing they have committed to not trespass and also encourage others not to, makes us very proud. In that respect winning the competition is a bonus and we’re thrilled the students have been recognised for the hard work they put into making their video!”

Backtrack is supported by the rail industry including CrossCountry, LNER, Northern, Network Rail, Nexus and TransPennine Express, and is managed by a steering group of members of the Community Rail Education Network, Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership, Community Rail Lancashire, Penistone Line Partnership, Southeast Communities Rail Partnership and Tyne Valley Community Rail Partnership.

Alex Bray, Stakeholder Liaison Manager for CrossCountry commented, “CrossCountry are proud to support the first in-person Backtrack awards which recognises the creative talents of young people from across the country. The popularity of the competition demonstrates young people’s commitment to being safe around the railway.”

Marie Addison, Northern’s Regional Community and Sustainability Manager for the North East commented, “It was an absolute pleasure to attend the Backtrack event at the Rail Academy. The competition has gone from strength to strength with outstanding entries from all ages. The celebration event was the perfect opportunity to bring everyone together to say a huge thank you and to showcase the fantastic work created.”

It is with much sadness that we have to report the death of Bob Whitehouse the chair of the Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership on the 2nd November 2022. Bob had been suffering recently from kidney cancer which sadly spread to his lungs, but he finally succumbed to a severe chest infection and died peacefully in hospital with his partner Laraine at his side.

I first encountered Bob when we interviewed him for the new partnership officer post in 2009. In typical Bob fashion, he came armed with a report he had written on his vision for the Bishop Line and interviewed very well. Once appointed, he threw himself into the task of promoting the line. At those early meetings with partner organisations he invariably introduced himself as “not being from around these parts”, his Brummie accent being a bit of a give away. He stepped down as our partnership officer after 10 years loyal service and became our chair providing support, friendship and encouragement to his replacement, Felicity, to whom we are indebted to taking the organisation forward in a proactive and inclusive manner.

His love of all things Great Western and the canals of Birmingham was infectious. So a couple of years ago, Bob and I embarked on building a portable exhibition model railway based on a 1930’s canal basin railway interchange and high level urban station entitled respectively Whitehouse Wharf and Smestow Heath. This was, I am pleased to say, almost completed before his passing and is a fitting tribute to his artwork and modelling skills.

Notwithstanding our passion for railways, real and model, we also shared many other interests including history, music, art, good food and freemasonry. He will be fondly remembered for his dry sense of humour, kind nature and dedication to the job in hand.

He will be sorely missed and our thoughts and prayers go out to his partner Laraine and his family.

Charlie Walton – Vice Chair of the BLCRP

Please come to our community event on Tuesday 1^st November between 11:30am and 12:30pm in The Sunday School at Locomotion, Shildon.

Join our community rail partnership and be the change you want to see!

• Do you find travelling by train difficult?
•  Would you like to see different facilities at the station on the Bishop Line?
•  Are you aware of groups within your community who would like to travel by train but don’t know how?

We’d love to hear from you if you’re interested in joining our partnership or have any ideas you’d like to work with us to pursue.

We have access to funding from the rail industry to help make change happen.

No idea is too small or even too big and your ideas could win you a FREE Northern train pass.

Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership (CRP), has achieved success at the national Community Rail Awards for its innovative work engaging communities with their local railway line.

Bishop Line CRP was finalist in three categories at the 18^th national Community Rail Awards:

• Second place in Most Effective Communications Campaign category with their ‘Pass on a Smile‘ campaign,
• Third place in the Involving Diverse Groups category with ‘Our Line Connections’ and
• Finalist in the Involving Children and Young People category with ‘Creative Journeys‘.

This year’s Community Rail Awards recognised a diverse array of projects, all demonstrating how the community rail movement continues to build links, positivity and awareness between local people and their railways.

The partnership’s  ‘Pass on a Smile’ campaign to encourage rail passengers to help others feel more comfortable and confident when travelling as smiling is contagious and has many health benefits. 1200 ‘friendly’ face coverings featuring the Bishop Line smile were distributed by partners Bishop Trains, to passengers between July 2020 and December 2021.

‘Our Line Connections’ celebrated the value of connection. It aimed to help people feel a greater connection to others, better connected to their place and positive about connecting with people and places through rail travel. Over 5 months, 200+ people participated in visual arts and musical workshops with 4 artists. Schools/groups were linked up to co-create artwork and songs using their feelings around connection and now each school/group is connected with at least one new school/group in the Bishop Line community. The project was celebrated with the production of a Songbook featuring artwork and songs, and with a face to face event at Locomotion, Shildon.

‘Creative Journeys’ was developed to deliver key life & creative skills, knowledge, awareness and opportunities to young people along the Bishop Line in primary school and young adults aged 15-26 outside of traditional education. Under the theme ‘Journeys’, young people learned about food journeys – the journey the food we eat takes to reach our plate, and train journeys – exploring the local heritage along the line. Their knowledge was shared using creative writing skills developed during the project and Students from Thornhill Primary performed their work at a live event at Locomotion.

More broadly, Bishop Line CRP runs a wide range of community engagement and social inclusion initiatives, supports volunteering at stations, delivers rail safety sessions in schools, colleges and community groups, promotes green travel and tourism by rail, and works with railway and local authority partners.

Robert Whitehouse, Chair of the Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership said:

“Our partnership is incredibly proud to have been recognised at this year’s national community rail awards for three of our recent projects. We work very closely with our local community and are proud to share these achievements with them and thank them for their involvement.’

‘Particular thanks go to Luxi, for their ongoing commitment to Our Line Connections, a project evolved from the Our Line play launched back in 2017.’

‘Huge thanks also go to New Writing North for their management of the Creative Journeys project, a relationship which continues with our support of the Durham Book Festival to communities along the Bishop Line.’

‘And a big thanks goes to Bishop Trains for their ongoing support at Bishop Auckland station and for helping to ensure our passengers travelled safely and passed on a smile during Covid.’

‘And finally a huge thank goes to our partnership officer Felicity Machnicki, for helping to develop and deliver three award-winning projects.”

The Community Rail Awards were held at Manchester’s Central Convention Complex on 6^th October. More than 450 guests attended, including community rail volunteers, officers, rail industry leaders and government representatives.

The awards recognise the crucial, often unsung work carried out by community rail partnerships, station friends volunteers and community groups, in areas such as community and youth engagement, community-led station development, diversity and inclusion, and sustainable development.

Jools Townsend, chief executive of Community Rail Network, said:

“The Community Rail Awards give deserved recognition to community rail partnerships, groups and volunteers across Britain. We were thrilled to welcome more than 430 guests, alongside ministers and rail industry leaders, emphasising the great value of community rail, helping to build stronger, fairer, greener communities, served and connected by their railways and wider sustainable transport network.

“Despite another challenging year, the array of entries defied expectations, showing how community rail continues to strive to help people get the most from their railways and stations, and impact positively on local places and people’s lives.

Our congratulations go to Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership and all winners and highly commended, and thanks to everyone who supports community rail, helping the movement to go from strength to strength.”

Over 100 people from the Bishop Line community joined together to celebrate the importance of connection. On 22^nd June participants young and old came together at Locomotion, Shildon to share their experiences of participating in the Our Line Connections Project.

The project celebrates shared connections in the community and involves artists and groups who co-created a songbook of original songs and art by people who live along the route of the Bishop Line.

Over the past four months Visual Artist Michelle Tripp, Songwriter Em Whitfield Brooks and Digital Artist Humira Imtiaz have been visiting schools and community groups across Darlington, Newton Aycliffe and Bishop Auckland to explore what connection means to them and develop art and music which reconnects the community.

Our Line Connections builds on the earlier project ‘Our Line’, which was an audio play broadcast online during the pandemic in 2020. Set on a train from Darlington to Bishop Auckland, this play was written to last as long as the train journey (just over 30 minutes) and featured a range of real and imagined stories. The original play, songs and artwork can be accessed at www.our-line.net.

Our Line & Our Line Connections are projects by Luxi in collaboration with the Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership & Northern, supported by Arts Council England, Cross Country Trains, County Durham Community Foundation, Durham County Council, Greenfield Arts, Locomotion & the National Lottery Jubilee Community Fund.

At the celebration event the children and community groups performed the songs they had written and the artwork created throughout the project was displayed around the museum. The project artwork will be on exhibition in Locomotion until the 11th July.

Caroline Pearce, Creative Director of Luxi comments “Our Line was borne from a joint fascination about the interplay between theatre and trains, between experiencing something entertaining whilst moving, and how the topic & the experience affect one another. The theatre on train we created was a real moment of achievement for us at Luxi and for the team at Bishop Line & Northern at the time, in 2018. And it led to profound and beautiful conversations and connections with audiences and participants and communities.

The opportunity to create a project around that experience became really compelling and after 2 years of regular meetings the core partners found more & more people who wanted to support the work, funders and partners all appreciating the value of human connection and stories. Working with what is now a large team of specialists, Our Line Connections has become a programme of activity that we hope will just keep getting better and enabling more and more people to understand how to get involved and the value of doing so.”

Marie Addison, Regional Community and Sustainability Manager, Northern,  said “It has been an absolute pleasure to be involved in the Our Line Connections project. Experiencing some of the workshops first hand and meeting some fantastic people has been a true highlight, as well as working collaboratively with the rest of the team. The celebration event is the perfect opportunity to bring everyone together to say a huge thank you and to showcase the fantastic work created”.

Felicity Machnicki, Officer for the Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership commented, “We felt in our bones that this project could help rebuild connections, strengthen people’s confidence in themselves and give people the drive to travel again. Having sat in some of the sessions, listening to the teenagers share their angst of making friends, watching students come together who haven’t mixed with other age groups for months, listening to isolated adults talking in close contact with others while they learn about neurographic art, I see that Our Line Connections is the success we aimed it to be. But more so it is the start of even more connections and that is a success in itself”