LNER officially launched its Railway 200 celebrations on January 14, unveiling a Class 801 Azuma in a unique livery to mark Darlington’s contribution to 200 years of rail travel.
In a similar style to LNER’s other recent named trains, nine-car Hitachi electric multiple unit 801207 now carries large ‘Darlington’ graphics along the sides of the driving cars, as well as ‘Railway 200’ branding.
As the primary East Coast Main Line operator, LNER can lay claim to be a distant descendant of the Stockton & Darlington Railway, which was absorbed into the North Eastern Railway and from 1923 became part of the original London & North Eastern Railway.
LNER Managing Director David Horne told RAIL: “So much of the railway’s story began in the North East. Not only the Stockton & Darlington Railway but also Stephenson’s locomotive works in Newcastle and much more.
“Railway 200 has captured the imaginations of people from all around the world and LNER will play an important role in bringing them to the region this year and in years to come.
“We’re supporting both the national events and Darlington’s S&DR 200 celebrations. This is our first official event of the year and we were very keen to get the local community involved – it needs to be about people, not just the trains.
“We hope this year’s big events inspire people to take a trip by train to Darlington, Shildon or York to discover more about the railways and how they changed the world.”
LNER has confirmed that it has more Railway 200 events in the pipeline, including contributing to the planned S&DR 200 celebrations in Darlington, at the National Railway Museum in York and August’s ‘Greatest Gathering’ at Alstom’s Litchurch Lane world in Derby.
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