Darlington Railway Athletic FC is a non-league football club from the north-eastern town of the same name, who were originally formed in 1919.
The club became members of the Northern League between 1919 and 1925 before returning to the Darlington & District League. League titles followed in 1932-33 and 1964-65 before completing the league and cup double in 1967-68.
Railway progressed to the Teesside League, where they remained for many seasons. The club bounced back from finishing bottom of the table in 1986-87 to become runners-up in 1988-89. The improvement saw RA move to the Wearside League for the 1990-91 season.
All was well at Brinkburn Road as the team won promotion to Division One of the competition at the first attempt, before the club folded at the end of the 1991-92 campaign, before being reformed to compete in the Darlington & District League.
'The Railwaymen' rejoined the Wearside League in 2000-01; going on to win the championship in 2004-05 and promotion to the Northern League in the following season, where they became members of Division Two.
In their debut 2005-06 season, Railway were promoted to Division One after a third place finish. The club retained their status for just one season as they finished bottom of the league and were relegated back to Division Two.
Fifth place finishes in 2011-12 and 2012-13 were as close as RA came to a return to Division One, with the team generally finishing in the lower half of the table; which continued to 2016-17 under manager Peter Mulcaster.
Darlington Railway Athletic FC will play in the Wearside League Premier Division in the 2024-25 season.
My visits
Wednesday 9th January 2008
I had just had an early morning visit to what remained of Feethams, the old home of Darlington FC after alighting from a train from London.
I had just had an early morning visit to what remained of Feethams, the old home of Darlington FC after alighting from a train from London.
I checked my map that I had printed from google earth and thought I'd walk to Brinkburn Road. It was uphill through what seemed of miles of terraced streets. I really didn't think the town was that large. Not for the first or last time, the map had not shown the distances as I had imagined.
I eventually got to the ground, only to find it locked up with excellent security fencing. I did my very best to take some photos from the angles and gaps available.
From what I could make out the ground had a path running around the pitch with some flat grass standing. There were small covers behind both goals, with another small stand with seats on the half way line. The opposite side backed onto the cricket ground. The clubhouse and changing rooms were by the corner flag behind the Brinkburn Road goal.
All in all a bit disappointing not to get inside or a better view. However, I feel that was more because of the distance I walked there and back, although at least it was downhill on the return. Brinkburn Road was not much to write home about in truth, but it's no doubt more than adequate for the crowds who attend games at the level the club are comfortable at.
Wednesday 22nd January 2017
Disappointed that I didn’t gain access the first time around, I decided to give it another go on a visit to southern County Durham before heading off to watch Scarborough Athletic in action in the North Riding Senior Cup at Stokesley.
This time I used the Max1 bus as part of my excellent one day pass from Tubwell Row, which dropped me off at the Brinkburn Road stop. From there it was just a couple of minutes walk to the ground.
The venue was just as I remembered and imagined from my previously obscured look. This time the gate was open to enable me to get photos from a better vantage point; albeit through thick fog.
Once I’d completed my task I toddled back down the hill to Cockerton Library for the next service to Shildon, and a previously unvisited town.
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