All Aboard! Celebrate 200 Years of the Modern Railway with the 2025 UK £2 Coin

By Change Checker | July 24, 2025

In 1825, history was made on the tracks between Shildon and Stockton. A daring new invention, steam powered locomotion, changed the world forever. Now, 200 years later, a UK £2 coin has been issued to commemorate that seismic moment.

The 2025 UK 200 Years of the Modern Railway £2 coin is a fitting tribute to the journey that transformed the world of rail travel. You may recognise it from the 2025 Annual Coin Set, but the 200 Years of the Modern Railway £2 is now been available individually.

The engine that sparked a rail revolution

It was 27 September 1825 when George Stephenson, the famed railway engineer, stood at the controls of Locomotion No. 1. With 36 waggons in tow, carrying coal, flour, passengers and dreams of industrial progress, it thundered along 26 miles of track from Shildon to Stockton.

This was the first time steam-powered locomotion had carried passengers on a public railway, and the world would never be the same. In the decades that followed, railways would stretch across nations, shrink distances, fuel economies, and define the modern age.

Marking a milestone

To mark this bicentenary milestone, The Royal Mint issued the 2025 UK 200 Years of the Modern Railway £2 featuring Locomotion No. 1 in full steam. Designed by William Webb, the reverse captures the raw industrial power and promise of the steam engine as it surges forward, surrounded by the bold inscription ‘THE JOURNEY THAT CHANGED THE WORLD’ and the years 1825-2025.

Around the edge of the coin, the engraving reads ‘ACTIVE · LOCOMOTION NO 1’ – a direct reference to the pioneering machine that paved the way for a new era of rail travel.

Following in the tracks

This release follows in the tracks of the Flying Scotsman £2 released in 2023 to mark 200 years of the iconic locomotive. The 2023 Flying Scotsman £2 was also originally issued in the 2023 Annual Coin Set before being individually released later that year.

If you already have the 2023 Flying Scotsman £2, the 200 Year of the Modern Railway £2 is the perfect addition to your collection celebrating Britain’s legendary railway history.