A common scene from the 1950s and 1960s will soon be recreated at Bridlington station in East Yorkshire when a statue of a ‘Barrow Boy' is installed on the station concourse.
As a taster of what the statue will look like, Northern has unveiled two scale models of the new sculpture that is destined take pride of place at the station in a celebration of some of the town's railway heritage.
Barrow boys were once a common sight on station platforms in the 1950s and 1960s when young boys waited on the station to carry passengers' luggage from the platforms to the hotels and guesthouses for a small fee.
Northern has been cooperating with the Yorkshire Coast Community Rail Partnership and Network Rail on the project, with the statue set to be cast in bronze and a planned unveiling next year.
This is not the first time that Northern has turned to the arts to make its stations more welcoming, as last year it provided space at South Bank railway station in Middlesbrough for a local community group to display its artwork.
Kerry Peters, regional director at Northern said: “This sculpture will bring some of Bridlington's forgotten railway history back to life and celebrate the heritage of the area.
“I would like to thank everyone involved for their hard work and for creating something that passengers passing through the station will be able to enjoy for generations to come.
“At Northern, we can't wait to unveil the finished sculpture next year.”
I’m one of those young boys who spent most Saturdays in the school holidays taking visitors from mainly the West Riding to their “Digs” usually private houses (Boarding Houses) and remember making good money.
Now a spritely 80 year young I actually visit Bridlington last week to reminisce my childhood memories