Tunnelvisio n:
Thepaintingby
MalcolmRootof
LNERNo.4470
GreatNorthern
emergingfrom
the1214-yardlong
PottersBartunnel
ontheECMLin
Hertfordshirethat
hasbeenentered
intheGuildof
RailwayArtists’
2019 exhibition.London-bound:LMSPrincessCoron ationNo.46236City of BradfordheadstheUp
‘RoyalScot’inapaintingby PhilipHawkin sthatwillbeexhibitedatRailart2019.Besidethesea:A
paintingby John
Austinthat willbe
exhibit edat Railart
2019 features
GWRNo. 6010
KingCharlesIon
theDown‘Royal
Duchy’at Dawlish.Artiststoserve
up visual feastat
Kidderminster
RailwayMuseum
ByGeoffCourtneySOMEof theworld’ sleadingrailway
artist swill be serving up their annual
visualfeast at KidderminsterRailway
Museum onAugust 17, when the Guild
of Railway Artists’2019exhibition opens
forasix-weekrun.
It will be openedby Lady Judy
McAlpine,the guild’s newest patron
and widowofSir William, whowas
agreat admirer ofrailway artand
the work of the guild,which has a
world-wide membership.
Theexhibition, titledRailart2019,
will be an unmissable displayfor
many enthusiasts ofrailway art
covering all eras,motivepower,and
painting mediums,and will beacause
forcelebration, as thisyear marks
the guild’s ruby anniversary. Guild
spokesmanRobPulham said th at
it wasexpectedupto60paintings
would be on display, with most of
themavailableforsaleatprices
between about £300 and £5000.
Recalling the origins of what
has become thecountr y’spremier
railway artexhibition,Anna Bastin,
the guild’s exhibition officer,said:“In
1977 theMidlands areagroup of the
WightLocomotiveSocie ty staged
an exhibition inLeamington Spa,
and 20 artists submitted theirwork,
including David Shepherd. It wasa
greatsuccess,and twoyears laterthe
guildwasformed.
“Weare hoping thataswecelebrate
our 40th anniversary, this year’s
exhibition will be as enjoyable and
memorable as always forthe artists
themselves andforthe manyvisitors
and admirers of theirwork.”
Anna promisedaselection of
styles on displaythatwould suit all
tastes–steam is neverthe solework
exhibited–and therewill also be a
souvenir anniversarycatalogue,while
it is also hopedto stage anexhibition
of the guild’s earlydays. She said
artists who will have paintings on
displayinclude the threeFellows of
the guild,John Austin, who is guild
president;founder memberPhilip
Hawkins,and MalcolmRoot.
One of theworksJohn has
submitted is of GWR No.6010King
Charles Ion theDown‘Royal Duchy’
Paddington-Penzanceexpressat
Dawlish againstabackground of an
angry sea.
Philip’s work is of LMSPrincess
Coro nation No.46236Cityof
Bradfordin the mid-1950s passing
Sears Crossing signalboxonthe Up
‘Royal Scot’just,saysPhilip,38miles
from the buffer stopsat Euston and
journey’s end.
ThepaintingMalcolm has entered
is of LNER No.4470Great Northern
emerging fromPotters Bar tunnel
on the ECML.This Pacific wasbuilt at
Doncaster inApril1922asthe pioneer
of theNigel Gresley A1 (laterA3) class,but rebuilt inSeptember 1945by his
successor as LNER chief mechanical
engineer,EdwardThompson, and
reclassified A1/1.It wasrenumbered
60113 by BR andwithdrawnfrom
Doncaster (36A)inNovember 1962.
“Thereiss omething about a
locomotivebursting into the fresh air
out ofasmoke-filled,sulphurous and
claustrophobic tunnel,” said Malcolm.
Of his choiceofGreat Northernas
the subject, he added:“This wasa
controve rsial rebuild thathas caused
strong debate over theyears,butits attractiveblue livery, plus the
chancetof urthermy knowledge of
whyThompson picked this particular
locomotivefor his experiments,which
resulted in an improvementwhen
compared with the original,was my
reasonforputting brushto canvasto
record asliceofr ailwayhistor y.”
Theexhibition,to whichadmission
is free and will includeapoll
inviting visitorsto nominate their
favourit eworkondisplay, runs until
September 29 and opens dailyat
10am.42 Heritagerailway.co.uk indusonwww.facebook.com/heritagerailway
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