The Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway, a charity set up in 2013 to safeguard and promote the Stockton & Darlington Railway as the world changing birthplace of the modern railway has been awarded The King’s Award for Voluntary Service for 2025. This is the highest award a local voluntary group can receive in the UK and is equivalent to an MBE.
Contributing tens of thousands of volunteer hours over more than a decade, the charity has facilitated communities to take care of their railway heritage including helping restore the historic inclines west of Shildon so that they are no longer at risk and rejuvenating the former Fighting Cocks coal yard site, transforming it from an overgrown patch of land into a welcoming picnic area for the community.
The charity recently hit the headlines by raising the money to purchase Heighington Station, the World’s oldest railway station. They are now raising money and working to restore the station and reopen it as a Georgian Railway Tavern where visitors can experience what it would be like to be an 1820s rail traveller, creating jobs and training opportunities.
The charity has proactively worked alongside the local authorities to help safeguard internationally important heritage sites from unsympathetic development and promote positive regeneration of the surrounding areas. They have also promoted the creation of a long-distance heritage trail that connects the sites along the route of the S&DR, writing and releasing in-depth guidebooks to help visitors understand the sites.
Members have worked to write new books shedding new light on the Railway and bringing it to new audiences. Books published by the charity include easy-to-read guides on why the S&DR is so important, a photographic book recording the S&DR in 2025, as well as more specialist works on the Yarm branch line and depot.
The story of the opening day has also been brought to the next generation through the creation of a children’s book, Little Loco’s Big Day Out, that tells the story in a fun and engaging way through the eyes of Locomotion No. 1. The charity has worked with numerous schools along the line providing educational materials and delivering activity sessions based on the Little Loco book and working with children to create public artworks in Stockton.
The Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway is one of 231 local charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to receive the prestigious award this year. Their work, along with others from across the UK, reminds us of all the ways fantastic volunteers are contributing to their local communities and working to make life better for those around them.
The King’s Award for Voluntary Service aims to recognise outstanding work by local
volunteer groups to support their communities. It was created in 2002 to celebrate Her
Late Majesty The Queen’s Golden Jubilee and was continued following the accession
of His Majesty The King. 2025 marks the third year of The King’s Award for Voluntary
Service. Recipients are announced annually on 14th November, The King’s Birthday.
Representatives of the Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway will receive the award crystal and certificate from Dame Sue Snowdon, Lord-Lieutenant of County Durham in the coming months.
The group’s chair of trustees, Niall Hammond said:
‘The Friends of the S&DR are thrilled and excited to have our work recognised by the award. The Stockton & Darlington Railway is where the modern railway began in 1825 and changed the world. The work of our volunteers, communities and partners to preserve and value this legacy can only be enhanced by this amazing award’.