The Brick Train is a brick sculpture located on the outskirts of the town of Darlington, in the English county of Durham. The sculpture was created by David Mach in 1997 to celebrate the town's railway heritage, and is modelled on the steam locomotive Mallard, which set a UK rail speed record of 126 miles per hour (203 km/h) in 1938. The locomotive is depicted as if just having exited a tunnel, with the billowing smoke typical of such an exit.[1][2]
| Brick Train | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Brick Train | |
| Artist | David Mach |
| Completion date | 1997 |
| Type | Sculpture |
| Medium | Brick |
| Subject | Steam locomotive |
| Location | Darlington, County Durham, England |
| 54°31′24″N 1°29′53″W / 54.52333°N 1.49806°W | |
The sculpture is situated adjacent to Morrisons supermarket in the Morton Park shopping area to the east of Darlington town and in the civil parish of Morton Palms. A total of 185,000 Accrington Nori bricks were used in the sculpture's construction, and it is 7 metres (23 ft) high and 29 metres (95 ft) long, covering an area of 600 square metres (6,500 sq ft). It is hollow inside and special bricks provide gaps that enable bats to fly inside and roost. The sculpture is visible from the nearby A66 road, and was officially unveiled by Lord Palumbo of Walbrook on 23 June 1997.[1][2][3][4]
The work cost £760,000, which was provided by the National Lottery Heritage Fund along with smaller contributions from Darlington Borough Council, Northern Arts and Morrisons.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b "Darlington's Brick Train". This is Darlington. Archived from the original on 6 January 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
- ^ a b c "Darlington Brick Train celebrates 20th anniversary". BBC News. BBC. 23 June 2017. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
- ^ "Brick Train". Bing Maps. Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
- ^ "Spotters go bats over a brick train". Lancashire Telegraph. 26 June 1997. Archived from the original on 7 January 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2020.