Seeing a giant railway sign for the Stadium of Light emblazoned with the SAFC badge and red and white stripes is not what you would expect to see on the East Coast Mainline as trains approach Peterborough station.
For the thousands of non-Mackem passengers – and even those who are of a red and white persuasion – you could be forgiven for taking a second glance and looking a little perplexed at what this distinctive signage is doing nearly 200 miles from the banks of the Wear.
One of those left confused was a friend of mine travelling back down to London after last game of the season who got in touch after seeing the unexpected sign, and asked me to investigate the mystery of what it was doing so far from its natural home.
The reason is down to rail haulage company GB Railfreight and the passion for all things SAFC by the company’s CEO John Smith.
John, 63, who now lives near Kettering, said: “I’m a massive SAFC fan and some of my team, including one guy who is a big Newcastle fan, decided to arrange for this sign to be constructed and it has been positioned next to the mainline just outside our maintenance yard.
“It was a fantastic surprise and was very kind of the team to do this form me – I’m really grateful.
“Gary Bennett travelled down to unveil the sign and it’s great that so many people will see the name of the club as they travel up and down the country.”
Decorated in red and white and with the Black Cats’ badge positioned centrally alongside the company’s own logo, the sign points north with 188 miles to the Stadium of Light and South, with 85 miles to go until reaching Wembley.
Also engraved in the centre of the sign are the names of all the home grounds the Black Cats have played at throughout their history as well as the famous ‘ha’way the lads’ chant heard on the terraces of Roker Park and the Stadium of Light.
John said: “The design is based on the famous East Coast Mainline sign which sits halfway between Edinburgh and Kings Cross stations.
“I didn’t get to Wembley in 73 but I went to the following seven appearances in which we got beat.
“I think they decided to put Wembley on the sign after we eventually put this to bed by beating Wycombe Wanderers in the play-off final.”
Staff at the company were only too well aware of John’s love for the Black Cats after in 2007 he named one of the company’s haulage locomotives ‘Sunderland’ and decorated it with the SAFC badge, flags and colours.
John said: “It‘s actually a long standing tradition to name trains after football clubs. “Niall Quinn, Jim Montgomery and Gary Bennett came down to unveil this train and it now travels around the country showcasing the name ‘Sunderland’ and the team’s colours.”
John spent the early part of his childhood in Northumberland, living near Alnwick, and started watching the Black Cats thanks to his “dad’s best mate”.
He said: “My dad was in the forces and based at RAF Boulmer. His best mate was a Sunderland fan and we all started going to the games.
“My first game was in 1969 and at that time we had a lot of the team who went on to be the cup winning team including Jimmy Montgomery and Dick Malone.
“We would always stand in the Clock Stand paddock and as young child of seven or eight, once you’ve been to these games it really gets into you.”
At the age of 12 John moved to York before moving to the south of the country as he began working on the railways.
However, the love he developed for the club has remained with him ever since as he joined the SAFC supporters’ branches in the various locations his job took him and regularly attended away games as well as “looking to get to home games when he can”.
John said: “Hopefully we can get back in the Premier League as it’s the right place for us to be. Apart from the result, the NUFC game last season was a reminder of what things used to be like and it would be good to get back to regular derbies.
“My two boys are SAFC fans and my theory is that if we all have two children and they become Black Cats fans then eventually we all should be.”
Employing over 1,000 people and with 156 locomotives, GB Railfreight is responsible for moving moving 22% of Britain’s rail freight.
