Trivia: Railway related murals

[Peter0124]

I had recently found out that there is an underpass in Motherwell town centre which shows the route of the West Coast Main Line and some pictures of places along it. Are there any others, especially UK examples and at stations?

West Hamilton Street underpass © Thomas Nugent

Preston, Warrington and Crewe stations on the West Coast Main Line.

www.geograph.org.uk

 

[fgwrich]

There are a few dotted around the network, for example:

Basingstoke has this wonderful (but now sadly very out of date and looking worse for wear) mural featuring a 442, painted in the NSE Era:

Network SouthEast wall mural / artwork at Basingstoke Railway Station in 1992

Scan of a slide taken by my dad Terry Foulger. As of September 2023, this artwork as since been replaced with a new mural which can be seen on my Flickr site at the following link - flic.kr/p/2p5UxvZ.

www.flickr.com

Basingstoke Station, March 27th 2021

This mural dates from the late 1980s and I understand will soon be restored.

www.flickr.com

Falmouth Docks has this mosaic piece:

Falmouth mural

A mosaic at Falmouth Dock station featuring a HST.

www.flickr.com

Gloucester had, though I have a feeling it has now sadly been hidden, a HST on one of it's platform walls as well.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Mar 2022 ==

And of course, you also have the (in my opinion, rather gaudy) Murals by Birdget Green in Exeter St Davids, which just features a Mk3. I do think it's time those went to be honest!

Exeter

Explore this photo album by Karen Blakeman on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

 

[D6975]

Doncaster and Plymouth both used to have murals in the subway.
There's one in the subway on the Bristol - Bath cyclepath at Barrow Rd.

 

[Taunton]

There is of course the magnificent 100-year old tiled wall map of the L&Y railway at Manchester Victoria station

R0516 - Manchester Victoria

L&Y Tiled Wall Map. 22nd June 1966

www.flickr.com

 

[ANDREW_D_WEBB]

Spalding has a nice mural of the Hogwarts Express

 

[306024]

As you leave Harwich International station towards the car park there is this on the wall next to the old traincrew signing on point.

 

[robert thomas]

Winchfield, Swansea, Newport

 

[Devonian]

Exeter St David(')s has witty murals on the staircase to the footbridge, depicting the 1990s railway in the style of Michaelangelo's Sistine Chapel: for example, God the Father directing the sun and moon is replaced by a uniformed British Rail employee directing passengers.

 

[Mag_seven]

From memory there is something on the overbridge at Wolverhampton.

 

[simonw]

Woking station underpass

File:Woking Railway Station Underpass - geograph.org.uk - 1188120.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

commons.m.wikimedia.org

 

[Furrysquid]

I had recently found out that there is an underpass in Motherwell town centre which shows the route of the West Coast Main Line and some pictures of places along it. Are there any others, especially UK examples and at stations?

West Hamilton Street underpass © Thomas Nugent

Preston, Warrington and Crewe stations on the West Coast Main Line.

www.geograph.org.uk

This is just round the corner from Birmingham Snow Hill: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Snow_Hill

 

[AlterEgo]

There is one by the canal at Wolverton:

Canalside Train - Wolverton- Buck's - Murals on Waymarking.com

Waymarking.com is a way to mark unique locations on the planet and give them a voice. While GPS technology allows us to pinpoint any location on the planet, mark the location, and share it with others, Waymarking is the toolset for categorizing and adding unique information for that location.

www.waymarking.com

 

[charley_17/7]

Railway Avenue, Rotherhithe has a loco and carriages mural between the station entrance and the Brunel Museum.

 

[WesternLancer]

There are a few dotted around the network, for example:

Basingstoke has this wonderful (but now sadly very out of date and looking worse for wear) mural featuring a 442, painted in the NSE Era:

Network SouthEast wall mural / artwork at Basingstoke Railway Station in 1992

Scan of a slide taken by my dad Terry Foulger. As of September 2023, this artwork as since been replaced with a new mural which can be seen on my Flickr site at the following link - flic.kr/p/2p5UxvZ.

www.flickr.com

Basingstoke Station, March 27th 2021

This mural dates from the late 1980s and I understand will soon be restored.

www.flickr.com

Falmouth Docks has this mosaic piece:

Falmouth mural

A mosaic at Falmouth Dock station featuring a HST.

www.flickr.com

Gloucester had, though I have a feeling it has now sadly been hidden, a HST on one of it's platform walls as well.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Mar 2022 ==

And of course, you also have the (in my opinion, rather gaudy) Murals by Birdget Green in Exeter St Davids, which just features a Mk3. I do think it's time those went to be honest!

Exeter

Explore this photo album by Karen Blakeman on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

Thanks for some good pics - that NSE one at Basingstoke is in a bad way - I hope the restoration mentioned in the pic comes to pass

 

[fgwrich]

Thanks for some good pics - that NSE one at Basingstoke is in a bad way - I hope the restoration mentioned in the pic comes to pass

So do i, I walk past it nearly every day on my way into work and it is a shame to see it in such a state. Though it will be interesting to see what happens to the 442 during any potential restoration. Given the circumstances of the last year or two, it may not be very wise of SWR to update it to one of their liveried units!

 

[D6975]

There is of course the magnificent 100-year old tiled wall map of the L&Y railway at Manchester Victoria station

R0516 - Manchester Victoria

L&Y Tiled Wall Map. 22nd June 1966

www.flickr.com

There's a similar sort of thing on Middlesbrough station.
And another example of the same just inside the entrance to the NRM in York.

 

[XAM2175]

It may not entirely satisfy the spirit of the thread but I've always been fond of the one at what used to be the entrance to Kings Cross Thameslink:

File:KingsCrossThameslinkEntrance2019.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

commons.wikimedia.org

 

[WesternLancer]

There's a similar sort of thing on Middlesbrough station.
And another example of the same just inside the entrance to the NRM in York.

Yes, several NER ones exist at stations - read an arycile about them once and how many were thought to survive of the original total - quite a few I think.

There is an LBSCR equivalent tiled map at the 'other' Victoria Station. I think that is the only LBSCR one that exists.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 15 Mar 2022 ==

It may not entirely satisfy the spirit of the thread but I've always been fond of the one at what used to be the entrance to Kings Cross Thameslink:

File:KingsCrossThameslinkEntrance2019.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

commons.wikimedia.org

I'd forgotten that - excellent!

Tiled murals have potential longevity if owners are able to care for them - but not easy to retain if redevelopment happens. I wonder if this is still there - I realise I have no idea what has happened to the street level buildings at the disused KX-TL station.

 

[L401CJF]

From memory there is something on the overbridge at Wolverhampton.

There is, i discovered it today! Plenty of Intercity related artwork on there. Ill try and get some pics in the week.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Batley and Mirfield both have murals depicting trains, I'll try and get a couple of photos tomorrow.

 

[XAM2175]

I wonder if this is still there - I realise I have no idea what has happened to the street level buildings at the disused KX-TL station.

Thankfully yes! The street-level buildings were kept as a weekdays-only entrance and exit from the Underground station, though I'm not sure what the arrangement is now.

Here's a lovely (but sadly very small) photo of it from when Tim Dunn visited in 2016:

(from https://web.archive.org/web/2019040...e-hidden-tunnels-beneath-kings-cross-station/)

 

[WesternLancer]

Thankfully yes! The street-level buildings were kept as a weekdays-only entrance and exit from the Underground station, though I'm not sure what the arrangement is now.

Here's a lovely (but sadly very small) photo of it from when Tim Dunn visited in 2016:

(from https://web.archive.org/web/2019040...e-hidden-tunnels-beneath-kings-cross-station/)

Thanks - that is a bit of good news. I will have to take a look next time I am in the area.

 

[lachlan]

North Queensferry station has this big mosaic on the northbound platform

File:North Queensferry railway station mosaic 02.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

commons.wikimedia.org

It's impressive, though I'm not sure what all the patches of white tiles are for towards the left. Regardless, I love the Forth Bridge and so I love this

 

[Class360/1]

There’s a mural platform 1, Marks Tey

 

[Essexman]

There’s one at Falmouth Docks station with trains on it.

 

[Jan Mayen]

Is there a mural of the Brighton Belle at Brighton?

 

[WesternLancer]

There’s one at Falmouth Docks station with trains on it.

I can only see one train in the picture of it in post #2

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 15 Mar 2022 ==

Is there a mural of the Brighton Belle at Brighton?

Yes! I think it is or was down by the under arches where the Toy and Model museum entrance is.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Porth up the Rhondda Valley used to have one.....

 

[Peter0124]

Also to add to the post, there's one of a 380 at Paisley Gilmour Street station, and I believe I've seen steam train artwork on the roof of the Trafford Centre a while ago before.

 

[chris_in_salop]

As mentioned earlier, Wolverhampton station does indeed have a mural. Here's a part of it, featuring some of the city's more celebrated residents setting off on their travels.



(Credit Matt Hyde / Flickr)