The ''Brick Train'' is a

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

located on the outskirts of the town of

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

, 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 A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

''Mallard'', which set a UK rail speed record of in 1938. The locomotive is depicted as if just having exited a tunnel, with the billowing smoke typical of such an exit. The sculpture is situated adjacent to

Morrisons Wm Morrison Supermarkets Limited, trading as Morrisons, is the List of supermarket chains in the United Kingdom, fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Sco ...

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 high and long, covering an area of . It is hollow inside and special bricks provide gaps that enable

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

s to fly inside and roost. The sculpture is visible from the nearby

A66 road The A66 is a major road in Northern England, which in part follows the course of the Roman road from Scotch Corner to Penrith. It runs from east of Middlesbrough in North Yorkshire to Workington in Cumbria. The road has been progressively ...

, and was officially unveiled by Lord Palumbo of Walbrook on 23 June 1997. The work cost £760,000, which was provided by the

National Lottery Heritage Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

along with smaller contributions from

Darlington Borough Council The Borough of Darlington is a unitary authority area with borough status in County Durham, England. Since 1997 Darlington Borough Council has been a unitary authority; it is independent from Durham County Council. It is named after its largest ...

, Northern Arts and Morrisons.

References

{{reflist, 30em Buildings and structures in the Borough of Darlington Culture in County Durham Outdoor sculptures in England 1997 sculptures 1997 establishments in England Trains in art Brick sculptures