The history of the railway has been illustrated in a new artwork that has been unveiled at Accrington station in Lancashire.

The artwork is called ‘Steam to Green’, and was created by artist Karen Allerton working in partnership with students from Accrington’s The Hollins secondary school. The project was supported by train operator Northern through its Seedcorn Fund. Northern is the UK’s second-largest train operator in the UK, running 2,500 services a day that serve more than 500 stations across the North of England.

‘Steam to Green’ provides a pictorial history of the railway, and depicts the progress of the rail industry from its earliest days using steam engines to the present day with its greener approach.

It was unveiled yesterday, Wednesday, 27 September, at Accrington station by the chair of East Lancashire and Clitheroe Community Rail Partnership, Mike Cliffe.

‘Steam to Green’ is not the only artwork display on Northern stations, as earlier this month Northern unveiled a common scene from the 1950s and 1960s with a sculpture of a barrow boy that is to be installed on the station concourse at Bridlington  in East Yorkshire.

Artwork that highlights the pride that students from Saddleworth in Greater Manchester have in their local area was also unveiled at Greenfield station, and a vibrant large-scale artwork that captures local landmarks and landscapes in Calderdale and was created by students of Calderdale College is now on display at Brighouse station.

Craig Harrop, regional director for Northern, said: “Karen’s collaboration with the students from The Hollins has created a beautiful – and important – piece of art to highlight the progression of the rail industry over more than 100 years.

“It’s a great addition to Accrington station and something that I’m sure our customers will enjoy admiring when using the station.”