We're pleased to welcome the North Eastern Railway Association with their programme of fascinating talks. These lectures focus on a range of railway topics, and include a Q&A session.
🚂 June 7th - Getting to Wearhead: The S&DR and the NER in Weardale (John Addyman)
This talk will describe the development of the railways in Weardale, once a hive of industrial activity and a lucrative source of traffic. From the first thoughts of rail connections, through the Stockton & Darlington Railway branch to Frosterley and the subsequent extensions to Stanhope and Wearhead, John will show how the railway supported the industries and communities along the dale, and its subsequent decline.
John Addyman is President of the North Eastern Railway Association, and has written several books and articles on the railways of the north east.
🚂 September 6th - William Bouch of Shildon - Locomotive Engineer (Neil Mackay)
Timothy Hackworth gets lots of publicity when Shildon is mentioned (justifiably so in the early years when he kept the Stockton & Darlington Railway locomotive fleet running).
However, William Bouch (1813-1876) managed Shildon works for 36 years from 1840 until his death, but he receives scant mention today.
Together with Oswald Gilkes, and later David Dale, he ran the Shildon Works Company. This was a wholly-owned subsidiary of the S&DR, and a very early example of management incentives using profit-sharing. From 1849 the company was responsible for the haulage of S&DR trains, from locomotive and rolling stock maintenance and construction to the provision of train crews.
Bouch introduced bogie passenger tender locomotives to England, and oversaw the construction of the new North Road works at Darlington.
The talk will describe Bouch's contribution to railway development in the north east and give some of the background to how the incentive scheme worked.
Neil Mackay chairs the North Eastern Railway Association and has made a special study of the Shildon Works Company using primary source material at the National Archives.
Tickets can be booked now and are free of charge. Lectures recommended for ages 16+.
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