How many people agree that the brick train was built in the wrong place? The structure designed by David Mach is bold and impressive - completely suitable for a town like Darlington with a long railway history. But its location beside a busy bypass on the eastern fringe of the town is far from ideal.
Most of those who pass on the road don't realise it is there and others get only a brief glimpse. Few are able to stop in a layby to get a closer look. A footpath provides a pleasant walk to it from the side of Morrisons supermarket at Morton Park. But hardly anyone is seen using it. It can be reached by vehicles going through a business estate, but not many seem to want to go that way. It means that the showpiece, created from 181,754 bricks at a reputed cost of £760,000 and opened in 1997, has been seen regularly by far smaller audience than it deserves.
There could have been several more suitable spots for it - for instance South Park, North Lodge Park, the town centre square or a site where it could be seen from passing trains. There is no chance of the 1,500 ton sculpture being moved now. The place chosen may have had much to do with its closeness to Morrisons, which was one of the main supporters of the project during the Year of Visual Arts. But perhaps those involved in the decision have reflected at times that an error was made.