THIS weekend as part of the SDR200 celebrations, the Hitachi train-building factory at Newton Aycliffe is holding its first open day to commemorate its own 10th anniversary.
Tickets for the day were snapped up almost as soon as they were released, but Hitachi kindly kept 10 aside for readers of The Northern Echo to win in a competition.
We had loads of entries and many, many great stories – some of them are really moving and touching. Sadly, some lovely stories did not make the top 10 which shows how much interest there is in the open day.
Judging was done by representatives from the Echo, Hitachi and S&DR200. All winners have now been informed and as well as tickets to the open day, they will receive SDR200 goody bags.
Congratulations to the winners, and many thanks to everyone who entered.
If you’re lucky enough to have tickets, enjoy the day and look out for the particularly fascinating talk at 2pm about the history of the Stockton & Darlington Railway – we’ll see you there!
Here are the winners’ stories:
Heighington station sketched by Andrew Simmons, whose great-great-great-grandfather, John Falcus Carter, built the station in 1826-27
MY family helped get the world on track. My great-great-great-grandfather is John Falcus Carter and, among his other tasks, he designed and built the world's first railway station at Heighington in 1826-27.
To honour his achievements, I have created Locomotion Pens. I turn the body of each pen on my lathe at home and every penny from their sale goes to the Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway’s Save Heighington Station Appeal. So far the pens have raised about £2,000 – only a small amount compared to Hitachi Rail’s magnificent contribution but every penny counts.
My sketch is used to promote the pens and to make stickers for the packaging. The pens are available from the shop on the Friends’ website (sdr1825.org.uk).
Andrew Simmons
I WAS 19-years-old, battling severe anxiety at university in Newcastle with end of year exams and personal issues, which meant I couldn’t stay there.
For six hours a day, the train was where I ate, wrote essays, and breathed.
In the comfort of the same scents, the same automated announcements and sounds of the train, I started to notice things. So this is “TransPennine Express”. A “Class 802”. What’s that black and orange one that just went past? Maybe I’ll try that “LNER” to York next time.
The train was no longer just my escape. I was safe here.
At 23, I’ve visited 200 stations, travelled on 53 classes of train, traced routes across a map on my bedroom wall, and I await a role in Avanti West Coast’s talent pool.
Rail isn’t just transport to me. It is home.
RAIL means so much to my family because it holds some of our happiest and most meaningful memories.
My son’s earliest recollection is riding a train with his dad. In those early years we moved often, and visiting family by rail so it gave us some of our most special moments together.
We sadly lost his dad last year, and although it has been hard, the railway has remained a constant source of joy and comfort for my son. Now nine, he and I spend almost every weekend trackside – taking photos, collecting waves from drivers, and finding happiness through the railway.
It’s not just travel, it’s joy, connection, memory, and recovery.
Without the railway, my son’s life would not be the same, and neither would mine. Here’s to another 200 years of train travel!
MY great aunt’s son has special needs and has always had a love for everything to do with trains. I can remember his birthday parties for years where his cake was always train related.
My aunt takes him out several times a week and this often involves sitting near a station watching the trains go by, or spending the day on a train somewhere, there and back in a day.
I think the open day would be really special for them to enjoy together, and a once in a lifetime experience.
GROWING up in Japan, a country where trains are part of daily life, my fondest childhood memories are of travelling every summer from Tokyo to Osaka to visit my grandparents. Onboard, my family shared homemade lunchboxes, wandered the carriages, and I convinced my mother to buy me ice cream.
Those hours on the train became magical journeys—full of laughter, warmth, and connection across generations.
Now, living in UK as an expatriate, I continue this tradition with my own children. Together we travel by train through rolling green fields and flocks of sheep, landscapes so different from Japan yet equally unforgettable.
I believe trains are not just transport, but moving bridges that carry family stories, heritage, and culture.
The photo I share is from 30 years ago: my father captured my mother, me, and my unborn brother next to a bullet train - a timeless reminder of what railways mean to my family.
Kotaro Moriyama
- Tokyo and Osaka are 313 miles apart. Today, the bullet train – shinkansen – takes two hours 30 minutes and costs about £70.
MY first ever memory of rail was when I was two years old. I went on my first trip to Blackpool with my family in 1959. My father was a pitman and it was the summer holidays. He worked at East Hetton Colliery (commonly known as Kelloe pit).
We always stayed in the same boarding house on Vance Road every year, and we had to walk through the station to get to the seafront every day.
I distinctly remember the sounds echoing around the station and the smell of the steam trains. I never forgot it; I still vividly remember it now 66 years later.
One day my father was talking to me about our holidays from years ago, I would have been in my late forties then. I told him about my memories of the station.
He didn’t believe me. He said: “You can’t remember that, you were only two.”
But when I told him about the smells and sounds and having to walk over the bridge in the station to get over the railway tracks he was amazed.
I’ll remember it forever, even though the station doesn’t exist anymore. It was where Coral Island is now.
Robert Parnaby
I WORK in the Hitachi factory and I absolutely love it. I have two young boys aged three and six and they are forever asking me if they can come and see daddy’s work place. It would mean the absolute world to them to see my place of work and show them the trains I build, and it would fill me with even more pride to show my boys my place of work.
Dave Stewart
RAIL has always been part of my family’s story. My grandad, George Lamb, was an engineer for Adtranz, which later became part of Bombardier, and helped design the Class 170 trains that still carry passengers today.
I’ll never forget my first ride from Duffield to Nottingham on a Class 170 Turbostar – the thrill, the sounds, and the countryside rushing by made me understand why rail matters. Even today, both the Class 170 Turbostars and the Class 158 Super Sprinters he worked on are still super and strong, carrying passengers across the region.
After my grandad retired and passed away, his passion and work continue to inspire me. Rail connects families across generations, sparks curiosity, and keeps history alive. To me and my family, rail is not just transport; it is connection, inspiration, and cherished memories on every track.
Tom Marriott.
OUR grandson has special needs and has loved trains since he was a baby and they are a very big part of his life.
He knows a lot about them and has travelled on many of them, and Hitachi trains are his new favourite, on Great Western, Trans Pennine, Azuma, Avero and any others he can find as they become available. They have made a big contribution to his education and life.
THE railway has always fascinated me from being a small child, but it became especially important to me the day we decided to marry in the Head of Steam in Darlington on the steps of a steam train – it doesn’t get more special than that!
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All of our guests were seated on the platform as if waiting for a train, and we walked down the platform together to the strains of the Theme from Morse – my favourite piece of music.
Our grandchildren, who were young at the time, thought this was just the coolest thing ever and of course took full advantage of the freedom of the station after the formalities were completed.
We visit what is now Hopetown and remember that day fondly, when the train was waiting in the station, and it was all for us!
Patricia Brown
