 | |
   Head of Steam shown within County Durham | |
| Established | 1975[1] |
|---|---|
| Location | Darlington, County Durham, England |
| Coordinates | 54°32′10″N 1°33′18″W / 54.536°N 1.555°W |
| Type | Railway museum |
| Curator | Leona White-Hannant[2] |
| Website | https://www.hopetowndarlington.co.uk/ |
Hopetown Darlington, previously known as Head of Steam and formerly known as the Darlington Railway Centre and Museum, is a railway museum located on the 1825 route of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, which was the world's first steam-powered passenger railway. It is based inside the station building at the North Road railway station. Its exhibits are devoted to the area formerly served by the North Eastern Railway with a particular focus on the Stockton & Darlington Railway and the railway industry of Darlington.[3][4] In 2022, plans were submitted to expand the museum as part of the Railway Heritage Quarter.[5] In December 2023, the museum temporarily closed its doors to undergo a £35 million redevelopment.
In October 2023, Darlington's Rail Heritage Quarter was renamed from Head of Steam to Hopetown Darlington, after the area of Darlington in which it is situated, which is so named due to the location of the historic Hopetown Carriage Works and Hope Town Foundry.[6]
Hopetown Darlington is a 7.5 acre site encompassing the former Head of Steam (now renamed North Road Station Museum), an exhibition hall for blockbuster exhibitions, a 4D virtual reality time travel ride, an adventure playpark, a café, shop, and events field for festivals and events, as well as onsite partners including the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, NELPG, and Darlington Railway Preservation Society. Hopetown Darlington reopened to the public in July 2024.
- ^ "Head of Steam - Darlington Railway Museum | Culture24". www.culture24.org.uk.
- ^ "Keeping in mind railmen who gave lives to support war effort | The North-East At War".
- ^ "- Home Page". Head of Steam Railway Museum. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
- ^ "Our Collections". Head of Steam Railway Museum. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
- ^ Barnard, Ashley (26 March 2022). "Plans updated for ambitious Darlington Head of Steam Museum". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
- ^ "Why is Darlington's £35m railway centre being renamed Hopetown?". Darlington and Stockton Times. 29 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.