I don't really like the big statue at St. Pancras international, but I noticed today they have finally got round to installing the frieze round the base of it, which, now I have seen it, I think is rather good. It's like one of those 3D dioramas they used to have at the science museum, with a lot of railway related detail.
The original plan for this included the image of death driving a tube train, and some sort of suicide theme in one of the panels which (rightly) caused a bit of commotion in some newspapers. Wisely this bit has been removed (you can see where the original details have been hacked away).
Although a lot of it is quite impressionistic (including one bit where railway workers appear to be aligning two bits of rail track by hand!), one thing I especially like is what appears to be a fairly accurate class 37! I recommend anyone who's in St. Pancras take a look - it makes a refreshing change from a lot of what passes for art these days.
The original plan for this included the image of death driving a tube train, and some sort of suicide theme in one of the panels which (rightly) caused a bit of commotion in some newspapers. Wisely this bit has been removed (you can see where the original details have been hacked away).
Although a lot of it is quite impressionistic (including one bit where railway workers appear to be aligning two bits of rail track by hand!), one thing I especially like is what appears to be a fairly accurate class 37! I recommend anyone who's in St. Pancras take a look - it makes a refreshing change from a lot of what passes for art these days.
