This painting by John Dobbin shows Locomotion 1 pulling wagons full of coal, flour and, for the first time, people, across Skerne Bridge – one of the world’s first railways bridges. Dobbin was born in Darlington and would have been about ten years old when the Railway opened. He painted this 50 years later from sketches made by his father – and possibly from his own memories of the day. This is his most famous painting and an important record of this world famous occasion.
Image courtesy of Head of Steam – Darlington Railway Museum