A LIFE size reminder of a town’s railway heritage has been unveiled.

The sculpture of the first train to travel along the Stockton-Darlington Railway has been installed next to the new St John's Crossing junction at the south end of Stockton town centre.

The steel model of the Locomotion No 1, created by artist Steve Tomlinson, was officially unveiled today (Friday) – the 188th anniversary of the first passenger rail journey.

And Victorian re-enactors were on site to help give the sculpture an authentic touch when the leader of Stockton Borough Council, Councillor Bob Cook, unveiled it.

The junction is known as St John’s Crossing, after the point nearby where the Stockton & Darlington Railway once crossed Bridge Road and where the first rail was laid in 1822.