New train artwork celebrating 200 years of railway history and Northern's long serving colleagues unveiled in Manchester

Northern has unveiled new artwork, covering the full length of a two-carriage train, to pay tribute to long-serving colleagues who have contributed to the group’s success.

The design was created as part of the nationwide celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of the modern railway, known as Railway 200. 

The artwork, unveiled during a ceremony at Manchester Victoria earlier today (Thursday), covers a Class 158 train and was developed with the support of the National Railway Museum. 

Northern has also added the names of 39 long-serving colleagues, who have all worked on the railway for 45 years or longer, to the inside of the train. 

The operator wanted to thank all of its staff for their service and inspire the next generation of railway workers, including dozens of engineering apprentices and trainee drivers and conductors who attended the opening event.  

The external artwork (pictured above) represents a timeline across two centuries and commemorates George Stephenson, the engineer who designed the first steam train that carried passengers on a public railway 200 years ago, on the Stockton and Darlington Railway. 

It marks the expansion of the rail network in the 1800s, when thousands of Victorian workers built an elaborate network of lines, tunnels and viaducts across the North of England, many of which are still in use today. 

The artwork celebrates other key moments in history, including one in 1948, when the four major railway companies were amalgamated and nationalised to form British Railways, and one in 1968, when the last of the mainline steam trains were withdrawn to pave the way for modern trains. 

It also marks an important milestone in Northern’s history, when the operator upgraded its fleet with 101 state-of-the-art trains, as part of a £500 million investment announced in 2018. 

Alex Hornby, Northern’s commercial and customer director, said: “This very special train celebrates 200 years of railway history, and is packed with tributes and fascinating facts about our railway, both inside and out. 

"As we reflect and look back, it also seems a highly appropriate time to say a big thank you many of our long-serving colleagues for the significant contribution they have made over the years and how they inspire the next generation, including our talented apprentices who we invited to the unveiling today.   

“This train will be seen by thousands of our customers in the coming months as it travels throughout the North, and hopefully they will join us in thanking those people who have worked so hard to build our railway and keep trains running across the region, day in day out. 

“We’ve come a long way since George Stephenson’s steam-powered locomotive carried passengers for the first time in September 1825 and now have a network which serves tens of millions of people by connecting communities across the country.”