Brusselton Incline Film online premiere to be held to mark 195 year Anniversary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway

Deeply disappointed at having to cancel the Rail Heritage Exhibition that was scheduled to take place here at your Railway Institute (where else?) on Sunday the 27th September, along with an unveiling ceremony for the new Masons Arms Crossing Sleeper Stone and Rail installation, the organisers, the Shildon Heritage Alliance CIC and Brusselton Incline Group, not wanting to let this important date to pass unmarked, have arranged a smaller online celebration that anyone with a computer or smartphone can enjoy from the comfort and safety of home. The event had been intended to mark the 195th Anniversary of the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway

“It was dispiriting to take the decision to cancel the Exhibition and the unveiling ceremony at the Masons Arms Crossing,” said Dave Reynolds from the organising team, “Everyone involved had put in so much work up to that point. But, with the changes in Covid-19 rules unsettling exhibitors, it was the right thing to do.”

“The 195th Anniversary of the S&DR opening is such a significant milestone. We saw this as a real opportunity to start getting people fired up for the steam passenger rail bicentenary in 2025. That’s only five years away and a tremendous 'once in a generation' opportunity for towns and villages along the S&DR route. We should start thinking now about how we can get the best effect for our area from that event.”

“As part of our planning for the Exhibition, the SHA CIC and Brusselton Incline Group made a film to show that explains the Incline, its workings, and the part it played in the opening and operation of the Stockton & Darlington Railway. We were going to project this onto a big screen in the Exhibition hall. It was made entirely by volunteers and features some stunning aerial camerawork contributed by local photographer Mark Ingleby. The Incline Group, who are volunteer custodians of the now scheduled ancient monument, provided excellent input for the scripting and storyboard throughout the making of the film.”

“Now that we’re not able to offer a physical exhibition and unveiling we have decided to mark the occasion by holding this premiere of our Story of the Brusselton Incline film at 10:00 am on the morning of the 27th of September. That would have been around the time all the action would have been happening 195 years ago to the day. Rather than simply taking the form of a lecture about the Incline, folk watching are also invited to consider three puzzling questions key to figuring out the way the Incline must have worked.”

The premiere on the YouTube video streaming site will include a live online chat session with the film's director and editor. Persons interested in watching can set a reminder in advance by clicking the bell symbol on the film’s watch page which you can find at https://youtu.be/ht-t-J2qUQ0  

There will also be a link to it from the Railway Institute’s web home page and the Institute and Save Our Stute Facebook pages.

For those busy at 10:00 am on Sunday, the same link can be used to access it to watch whenever you like after the film has premiered.  The Brusselton Incline Group are always happy to welcome new members or chat about the Incline and its story or your experiences of it with interested persons. They can be found on Facebook. The group hope that a proper ceremony unveiling their work at the Masons Crossing can be held at ta future date when the Coronavirus situation is deemed safer.

(22nd September 2020)