To mark the 200th anniversary of the first passenger railway, the Royal Mail has issued a new set of 10 stamps - perfect for railway fans to use on their Christmas Cards. The main set features six of the UK's most famous locomotives that helped to shape the history of rail travel in Britain: In addition, a miniature sheet containing four stamps, marks 200 years since the opening of that very first railway - the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR). The miniature sheet includes:
The station was to be located at Great Scotland Yard, close to the modern-day Embankment tube station, and would have boasted an ornamental frontage about 800ft (245 metres) in length. Multiple entrances would lead to a spacious hall about 300ft long and facing them would be a range of pay offices with the names of each railway above, Parsons wrote in his plans in 1853. There would have been eight arrival platforms and eight for departure.
Over the past few days, some 140 trains and locomotives of all shapes and sizes, from the oldest to the newest, have converged on Derby to pay homage to the 200th anniversary of the first passenger railway service.
As we gazed down at the molars beneath our feet, rail expert Richie Starrs pointed out that this site represents a pivotal moment in railway history – the Brusselton Incline.