The railway boy trail

Step into the shoes of Peter the Railway Boy and journey through Shildon’s rich railway past. Devised by Seen and Heard, this trail brings to life one of the world’s first railway towns. Discover history through a child’s eyes!

The Trail

Follow our trail to discover some of the places in Peter’s story. Just download the PDF below and print it off before your next visit.

Distance: 2 Miles (3.22KM)

Circular walk on pavements and footpaths. Some slopes. Approximately 1 hour.

Start and finish: Main Hall, Locomotion

Download the trail (PDF)

Scheduled dates

Well, as a child, I was born into a railway family. My grandfather was a railwayman, my father was. So, from being very, very young, I knew I was going to be a railwayman. I knew where I was going to work, basically. So, the railway had a great effect on us. As I grew up, it had a bigger impact on us because I finished school at 14. I started work almost straight away but with being in the railway you got free rail travel so a lot of my education was done by moving around the country with free rail travel and just learning as you went around the country. So, the railway industry had a big impact on my younger life.

About Seen and Heard

Seen and Heard is a young person led local heritage project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and facilitated by Investing in Children (IIC), a children’s rights charity located in County Durham. Children and young people at IIC recognised the lack of children’s narratives that are included in history and wished to personally address this. They created the Seen and Heard project with the aim of shining a spotlight on children and young people in County Durham history, uncovering untold stories and sharing these creatively with the public—doing history on their own terms.