Aims of the Trust

20 South Street, part of one of the world's earliest locomotive manufactories and the first to be custom built; in use to help:-

     - make Robert Stephenson famous again,

     - make today's generation aware of his achievements,

     - inspire a new generation of engineers through his achievements and

     - tell today's world about his genius and humanity.

The purpose of the Trust is:-

     - to save from dereliction the last remaining part of an historic industrial complex developed by Robert Stephenson & Co., which made many of the most important early locmotives such as Locomotion (Stockton & Darlington Railway, 1825), Rocket (for the 1829 Rainhill Trials to find the best engine for the Liverpool & Manchester Railway), the Planet class of 1830 and the Patentee of 1833;

     - to promote awareness of the achievements of Robert Stephenson, his companies, partnerships and other interests together with the development of railways, particularly in the north-east of England;

     - to establish a Centre to act as a focal point for a collection of books, documents, drawings and Stephenson memorabilia, and as a research centre into his life and times.