Preparations are well underway in the UK for events during 2025 to mark the 200th anniversary of railway passenger travel.
On 27th September 1825, the Stockton & Darlington Railway opened with passengers being pulled in carriages behind a steam locomotive designed by George Stephenson (1781-1848).
In his native North East of England, Stephenson’s achievements as inventor and engineer are memorialised in various buildings and plaques.
Perhaps the best-known is the Stephenson Memorial in the heart of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
It can be viewed today as you leave the city’s Central Station and is within a stone’s throw of the pioneering engineering works that bore Stephenson’s name.
When the statue was unveiled to the public in October 1862, photographers were on hand to record the moment for posterity.
At the base of the statue, the Newcastle Daily Journal identified three of the city’s photography firms together with their equipment, observing “Messrs. Downey, Warren and Laws – pursuing their peaceful and interesting vocation.”
The photograph below taken from an elevated position can be attributed to W. & D. Downey, who advertised prints for sale in various sizes the following day.
A fortnight later, an engraving of the same scene, “from a photograph by Messrs. Downey,” appeared in the national press.
© British Newspaper Archive.
Another view of the Stephenson Memorial comes from this stereocard, which I recently added to my collection and which bears evidence of its age and frequent handling in a stereoscope.
The lamp standard (right of frame) is viewable in the Downey image above, though the metal railings appear to have replaced the wooden palisade that originally surrounded the statue.
Whilst there is no photographer’s stamp or credit, the verso does feature a slightly-faded sticker for “Allan” whose Newcastle business sold stereocards and carte-de-visites during this period.
As to who the stereographer was, the few Downey 3D cards in my collection or that I have seen elsewhere use an arched rather than a square format.
But Downey did use yellow card, so perhaps the Stephenson Memorial publisher was hoping to alert customers with a familiar eye-catching colour.
Pressphotoman 
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