Construction company Shepherd, which has its offices in York, has been awarded an accolade for its part in the powerful brick sculpture "Train."

The award was presented at the 4th Annual Brick Awards, run by the Brick Development Association.

"Train" is a celebration of Darlington's historic railway links and received the coveted Supreme Winners award as well as awards for both craftsmanship and structural brickwork.

Taken from an original sculpture by artist David Mach, the 40 metre long x 7 metre high train emerges from a tunnel of smoke on a site which formed part of the original Stockton to Darlington railway.

Shepherd called upon its Northern Region's full complement of skilled bricklayers and apprentices to carry out the task. Site manager Peter Bell said: "This contract was like nothing I've been involved with before. Traditional bricklaying requires certain repetition throughout the job. The project was different at every stage.

Over 185,000 "Accrington Non" bricks were used to form the structure, completed in May 1997, and unveiled the following month, making it the largest single sculpture to be built in the UK.

The award's judges commented: "An extraordinary sculpture. In terms of bricklaying skills, it is one of the most demanding schemes of recent years and displays a remarkable attention to detail. It is a wonderful and outstanding piece of invention that is fun but not frivolous and takes brick into a new dimension."

The project was commissioned by Darlington Borough Council in partnership with Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc and Northern Arts.

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