Young apprentice Peter Sykes looked up at the huge steam train and knew he was facing the challenge of his career.

Back in 1969, Peter found himself in the spotlight when he was asked to wallpaper a train for a television advert .

The firm he worked for - Peter Millthorpe Painters and Decorators in Eccleshill - was approached by wallpaper paste manufacturers Solvite, who wanted a quirky advert to demonstrate the strength of its paste.

Peter, a 21-year-old apprentice, appeared in the advert pasting red and gold wallpaper all over the steam train at the Worth Valley railway.

Now, more than three decades later, a bizarre photograph of Peter and a colleague on step ladders papering the train is featured in the Telegraph & Argus's Bygone Bradford calendar!

And the calendar will soon be winging its way to the other side of the world, where Peter now lives.

Peter, now 57, emigrated to Australia 30 years ago and is currently on holiday in Bradford with his wife Patricia and children Jessica and Matthew, visiting his ten brothers and sisters, who still live in the district.

While in Bradford, Peter met up with his old boss, Peter Millthorpe and former colleague John Exley, who is also on the picture, to show them the calendar and reminisce about their brief flirtation with fame.

"My brother David contacted me in Australia to say he'd seen my picture in the T&A calendar. I couldn't believe it," said Peter. "It was such a long time ago but I've never forgotten that job. Not many people can say they've wallpapered a steam train!

"It was quite a challenge, we papered the whole train and it was really tricky under all the bars and joints. The firebox had to be lined to stop it igniting the paste. Traffic stopped to see what we were doing.

"The train was covered in water from a rain machine, to show how strong the paste was. I was on the advert, pasting away, and it ran on TV for several months. Solvite went on to do several wacky adverts - another one showed a wallpapered Mini going through a car wash - but this was the first.

"A picture of me pasting the train went in the T&A and that's how it ended up in the calendar 30 years later."

Peter is now head teacher of the painting and decorating department at Granville College in Sydney, and he plans to show the calendar to students.

He said: "I want to show that the trade isn't just about painting and decorating buildings - sometimes you get called on to do more unusual things!"

Bygone Bradford calendars are available from selected newsagents and Telegraph & Argus branch offices, priced £2.95.