Stockton Flyer is a kinetic sculpture in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England. It is a stylised depiction of the Locomotion No. 1, the steam engine that first arrived in Stockton in 1825 as part of the historic Stockton and Darlington Railway, the world's first modern passenger railway.
Description
The sculpture is normally concealed within a stone plinth located near Stockton-on-Tees Town Hall. At 1:06 p.m. each day — commemorating the delayed arrival time of the original Locomotion No. 1 — the sculpture rises from the plinth, moves along a short track, blows its whistle, and emits smoke. When fully emerged, the sculpture reaches a height of 7 metres (23 ft), including the plinth.
Design and History
The Stockton Flyer was designed and built by Cornwall-based sculptor and automata maker Rob Higgs. It was unveiled on 12 June 2016 as part of the commemorations of Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday.
The initial design drew criticism from some observers who felt it more closely resembled Stephenson's Rocket — which ran on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway and had no connection to Stockton — rather than the intended Locomotion No. 1. A revised design more accurately based on Locomotion No. 1 was subsequently produced and revealed in September 2013.
The stone plinth, installed by 2015, is engraved with the poem The Infinite Town by Mark Robinson.
Context
The Stockton Flyer was commissioned by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council in 2013 to commemorate the town's railway and industrial heritage. It followed an earlier static sculpture of Locomotion No. 1 — a 27-metre (89 ft) steel model at St John's Crossing — unveiled in September 2013. The council noted that while the St John's Crossing artwork is a literal representation of Locomotion No. 1, the Stockton Flyer automata represents the town's wider engineering achievements.
The sculpture was part of a £38 million regeneration of Stockton High Street. It was temporarily deactivated during the first COVID-19 national lockdown and reinstated on 4 July 2020.
