Dressed for Departure: Fashion in the Age of Rail

Commemorating the Stockton and Darlington Railway’s bicentenary, this special exhibition brings together historic fashion, toys and artworks that reflect on how the engineering marvel reshaped lives and culture, especially in the North East. Set within the Fashion & Textiles gallery at the museum, the display journeys from the early 19th century, when the railway arrived, to the end of the 20th century, a time when rail travel had become an everyday reality. Explore how the beginning of the railway transformed not just transportation, but also personal style, artistic expression and social habits. See the world’s first toy train set up close, gifted by Edward Pease, the ‘Father of the Railway’, to his son, garments from key moments in the region’s railway history and artworks that capture its journey through the picturesque landscapes of Teesdale.