Stockton and Darlington Railway No. 1 “Locomotion”, Steam locomotive at Darlington Railway Centre and Museum, England

Locomotion No. 1 is a steam locomotive built in 1825 by Robert Stephenson and Company, now displayed at the Locomotion Museum in Shildon. It has a tall riveted black chimney, a boiler clad in light-brown wooden planks bound with dark metal hoops, and large dark spoked driving wheels joined by coupling rods. A dark plate on the boiler reads "LOCOMOTION", and a small brass bell hangs from an open frame of rods above.

Built in 1825 by Robert Stephenson and Company in Newcastle, this locomotive pulled the first passenger train on a public railway on September 27, 1825. That journey marked the beginning of modern rail transport and changed how people and goods could move across distances.

The locomotive's name became a common noun: "locomotive" soon came to mean any rail traction vehicle. Its original name was Active, changed to Locomotion No. 1. A working replica, after years at Beamish Museum, is displayed at the Head of Steam museum in Darlington.

You can examine the locomotive up close at the museum and observe its original components made from metal, wood, copper alloy, and leather. Taking time to walk around it slowly helps you understand how the different parts work together as a complete machine.

The locomotive's name became a common noun: "locomotive" soon came to mean any rail traction vehicle. It also ran under its own steam at the 1875 railway jubilee and was shown at the 1876 Philadelphia and 1889 Paris world's fairs.