Colas rail freight stores three of its class 56 fleet

The town of Merthyr Tydfil is situated on the northern edge of the South Wales coalfield in a basin of the Taff valley some 25 miles from Cardiff; it was once so famous for its iron and steel industry

How do you celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway? By building a replica of the inaugural train – complete with replica chaldron waggons and the coach Experiment. But updating 1820s technology and design for 2020s standards is no mean feat.

With this year’s ‘Railway 200’ celebrations now upon us, DR JOSEPH BRENNAN looks at the remnants from the original 1825 Stockton & Darlington Railway that we can still see today