This month on Tales from the Rails, we are talking about education.

Who had an education or skills in the early days of the Stockton & Darlington Railway, who didn’t, and how did senior S&DR staff decide to improve educational standards amongst its workers? And did the workers appreciate this? Did engine drivers prefer to fry their pocket watches in the pub?

We are joined this month by Dave Reynolds of Shildon Railway Institute, which just happens to be the earliest railway institute in the world.

Dave has written a book on the history of ‘The Stute’ called An Insatiable First: 190 Years of Shildon's Pioneering Railway Institute (you can buy it on Amazon at the link below).

We are also joined by Timothy Hackworth’s Great Great Granddaughter, Jane Hackworth-Young. Timothy had a lot to do with improving the literacy of the workforce – while he wasn’t improving the reliability and efficiency of the locomotives. Listen in and find out more. Other links in this month's episode include:

Books Our very own illustrated limited edition hardback coffee table book, The Stockton & Darlington Railway 1825-2025 Dave Reynolds' An Insatiable First: 190 Years of Shildon's Pioneering Railway Institute Robert Young's authoritative Timothy Hackworth and the Locomotive Mike Norman's It Wasn't Rocket Science

Competitions Research on the Rails Write on Track Railway 200 Poetry and Prose Project