Darlington’s Brick Train
This is Darlington > Things to See & Do > Darlington’s Brick Train
To celebrate the rich railway heritage of Darlington, this sculpture was commissioned and created in 1997 by David Mach.
Visitors can park at the Morrisons Morton Park shopping area and walk along special footpaths to reach the sculpture. Once there, the adventurous can climb to the platform overlooking the train from above. The sculpture is signposted from surrounding roads.
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Modelled on the 1938 record setting, 126mph steam locomotive “Mallard”. Funded by the National Lottery, Wm Morrison Supermarkets, Northern Arts, Department of National Heritage, Darlington Borough Council and headed by sculptor David Mach the project reputedly cost c £760k.
A total of 185,000 bricks were used in its construction along with 170 cubic meters of concrete. The train weighs 15,000 tonnes and covers an area of 600sq meters. It is of hollow construction and measures 23ft high by 130ft long. It took a team of 34 brick layers, labourers and apprentices 21 weeks to build.
In addition, there are even 20 special ‘bat’ bricks built in at various places to encourage the nocturnal creatures to use it as their home. Local schools also donated ‘time capsules’ which were put inside the train.