World’s first steam locomotive to run on a public railway will appear at The Greatest Gathering organised by Alstom in Derby, UK
- Locomotion No. 1 was built in 1825 by a legacy Alstom company
- Pioneering locomotive to join others from the UK National Collection at Alstom’s three-day festival for Railway 200
Alstom, global leader in smart and sustainable mobility, is delighted to announce that the latest exhibit confirmed for The Greatest Gathering is the 200 year-old steam engine, Locomotion No. 1. The locomotive is being loaned by the National Railway Museum – which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2025 – alongside other historically significant rail vehicles from the UK National Collection.
“We are very excited that Locomotion No. 1 will be joining an already unprecedented roster of historic and modern rolling stock at The Greatest Gathering.”
Alstom’s three-day festival in Derby forms part of the wider festivities for Railway 200, a year-long celebration marking the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) on 27 September 1825 – and a journey that gave birth to the modern railway.
Locomotion No. 1 was the first locomotive to run on the S&DR and built by the Newcastle-based Robert Stephenson and Company. It was the first company in the world created specifically to build railway engines and later manufactured several of the first locomotives for other countries around the world. Through successive mergers, Robert Stephenson and Company became part of Alstom in 1989, giving the company a direct link to the dawn of the railways and making it the custodian of a unique legacy.
“We are very excited that Locomotion No. 1 will be joining an already unprecedented roster of historic and modern rolling stock at The Greatest Gathering. There is something poetic that one of Britain’s oldest steam locomotives will take pride of place within the factory where the UK’s newest trains are designed, engineered, manufactured and tested,” said Rob Whyte, Managing Director at Alstom UK and Ireland.
He added: “I want to thank the National Railway Museum – and indeed countless other partners across the UK rail industry – for supporting our mammoth event for Railway 200. We look forward to welcoming ticketholders to Britain’s biggest rail celebration later this year.”
The Greatest Gathering takes place on Friday 1, Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 August 2025 at Alstom’s historic Litchurch Lane Site in Derby. Britain’s biggest and oldest remaining train factory will be home to more than 50 rolling stock exhibits from the past, present and future of the railways, with the site itself opening to the public for the first time in almost 50 years.
Joining Locomotion No. 1 from the National Collection at The Greatest Gathering will be Derby-built steam locomotive, Midland Railway 1000 Class No. 1000. As the first original engine designed by Samuel Waite Johnson, the compound locomotive was built in 1902 and selected for preservation in 1951. As the first steam locomotive to arrive at Litchurch Lane ahead of The Greatest Gathering, No. 1000 made the short journey to Litchurch Lane by road on Thursday 22 May, coming from Barrow Hill Roundhouse near Chesterfield, where it is currently on display as a static exhibit.
Meanwhile, legacy Alstom locomotive D6700, the first-built Class 37 diesel, has previously been confirmed as attending The Greatest Gathering. Built in 1959, the locomotive was selected for preservation as part of the National Collection upon being withdrawn from service. D6700 remains operational and is based at the Great Central Railway under the custodianship of the Heavy Tractor Group.
“The Greatest Gathering promises to be a landmark event in this historic year for the railways. We are delighted to be able to showcase these historically significant vehicles from three distinct eras of locomotive design, from the early days of passenger travel to the golden age of steam, through to the switchover from steam to diesel,” said Craig Bentley, Director of the National Railway Museum.
Based in York, with a sister site – Locomotion in Shildon, County Durham – the National Railway Museum is part of the Science Museum Group. There are approximately 280 rail vehicles in the National Collection, with around 100 being at York at any one time and the remainder divided between Locomotion, as well as other museums and heritage railways.
Locomotion No. 1 is currently based at Locomotion – with the museum named after the locomotive. Originally named Active, it was rebuilt at Shildon in 1828 and later in 1856 ahead of preservation. Visiting Chicago in 1883, Locomotion No. 1 later appeared at the Exposition Retrospective du Travail in Paris during 1889. However, the steam locomotive’s appearance at The Greatest Gathering marks the first time in a century that it has left the North East of England.
The National Railway Museum is also planning to sell bespoke merchandise at The Greatest Gathering to commemorate Locomotion No. 1’s appearance at the sold-out event.
A full list of exhibits planned for Alstom presents The Greatest Gathering can be found on the event’s official website: www.alstom.com/greatest-gathering
