York – National Railway Museum (Keystone from Stockton & Darlington Railway)

And another item in the National Railway Museum’s stores…..

This might not seem exciting at first (or perhaps at all), but it’s a keystone from a decorative arch on the Stockton & Darlington railway. On one side there’s a human head and on the other are grapes. The notes for this item state that it comes from Stockton railway station, now known as Thornaby railway station. The Stockton & Darlington railway was the first public network in the world to use steam locomotives and it opened in 1825, so the 200th anniversary isn’t that far away.