As part of its contribution to Railway 200, train operator Northern has adorned a Class 158 train with artwork that celebrates key moments and people in railway history.

Covering the full length of both the inside and outside of a two-carriage Class 158 train, the artwork was unveiled at a ceremony at Manchester Victoria on Thursday, 11th September. The design was developed with the support of the National Railway Museum and created for Railway 200, which celebrates the 200th anniversary of the birth of the modern railway.

On the outside of the train, the artwork presents a timeline across two centuries of railways. It includes:

• 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.
• The expansion of the railway network during the 1800s, when thousands of workers built an elaborate railway network across northern England, including many lines, tunnels and viaducts still in use today.
• 1948, when the four major railway companies amalgamated and nationalised to form British Railways.
• 1968, when diesel and electric replaced the last steam-hauled trains.

Northern’s staff is not forgotten, with the names of 39 long-serving colleagues who have all worked on the railway for 45 years or longer being included in the artwork inside the train.

Earlier this year, Northern adorned a Class 331 train with a livery celebrating Bradford in West Yorkshire being designated as the 2025 UK City of Culture, and named a train after Rob Burrow, rugby league legend and Motor Neurone Disease (MND) campaigner.

“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 to 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.”

Alex Hornby, Northern’s commercial and customer director