In 2025, the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway will be upon us and there will undoubtedly be celebrations organised by local councils to commemorate this significant milestone.

The conference is, therefore, intended to bring together representatives from as many interested parties as possible, including heritage groups, to hear the case for a joint bid for World Heritage Status. The intention is to follow this up by creating a committee whose objective would be to take the bid forward, in order to achieve World Heritage Status in time for the 2025 celebrations.

Afterwards, we hope to bring together people from the community with enthusiasm and knowledge to carry on raising the profile of the S&DR and develop or refresh existing railway walks.

There are lots of interesting people delivering talks and attending as delegates.  These include the Lord Lieutenant of County Durham, a number of mayors and at least one MP, Phil Wilson.  It is really great to see so much interest and enthusiasm.