Ghost Train was a poetic reimagining of the journey of the first passenger railway. Created by Avanti and Co-Produced with Walk The Plank, it was a large scale outdoor performance which took place in both Stockton and Darlington in September 2025.
The Departure – Darlington
Across the afternoon, six large-scale kinetic structures, mounted on customised Nissan Micras, brought to life key inventions from the past two centuries through performance, music, sound, and engineering. At dusk, the locomotive came alive; powered by “coal of the future” made by 900 local primary school children, and led a magical procession to the Hopetown museum.
The Arrival – Stockton
An estimated 9,000 people gathered at Stockton Riverside for the final act of the Ghost Train journey. The show featured a 12m-high reimagining of the Brusselton Incline. A seventeen strong cast told the human story of the Industrial Revolution and its enduring impact on the region accompanied by a five piece live band playing an original score whilst projection, fire, and pyrotechnics created a multilayered, spectacular and emotional conclusion to the event.
- Ghost Train was a three year artist led project and was created in creative collaboration
by:
Bill Palmer
Bryan Tweddle
Andy Plant
Chris Squire
Here for the video of Ghost Train: The Making of a Spectacle.
