AN author has used his imagination to bring to life the tale of the Stockton and Darlington Railway and how it influenced the lives of people in the North East.

No.1 was written by Darlington-born author Tony Stowers 15 years ago, but was only published in paperback form six weeks ago.

Mr Stowe has created a fictionalised community and characters that are interwoven with the stories of George Stephenson, Edward Pease and Timothy Hackworth as they prepared to for Locomotion No.1’s first journey on September 27, 1825.

At a book reading to mark the new publication, Mr Stowers told how the historic railway had been a source of inspiration to him since his father took him to the 150th celebrations as a 12-year-old.

He said: “Even as a young boy I thought to myself how wonderful it would be to bring the story to life and here I am, 39 years later, doing just that.

“I’m trying to raise awareness of our history because it’s a brilliant story. Because of what happened then the whole world changed.”

Now living in France, Mr Stowers returned to Darlington to use the archives in the Crown Street Library to ensure his book is historically accurate, using local people and places as inspiration for his own characters.

No.1 is available as an e-book on Kindle and in print from the Create Space publishing service, both accessible through Amazon.