Fear and Fascination at Railway Museum

From 11 February 2012, visitors to the Museum will have the opportunity to take in over forty pieces of the earliest railway art including the first known child’s drawing of a train. These historic images of Britain’s railways capture the mood of a nation conflicted by this new technology, which instilled both excitement and fear in equal measure. This major new development represented the triumph of industrialised society to many, but was also viewed as dangerous to those who travelled on the railways and threatening to the traditional English landscape.

Among the art works on display in the exhibition are images commissioned by the London and Birmingham Railway and the Great Western Railway depicting the establishment of their railway lines across Britain. While some of the artwork sought to reassure members of the public and landowners with images of complete, safe and efficient lines in harmony with the surrounding landscape, others emphasised the huge mechanical and engineering feats that came with railway building.

The new exhibition draws from the Museum's previously unseen collection of prints, cartoons, drawings and paintings to demonstrate the polarised public attitudes to the railways in the 1800s.

Ellen Tait, Interpretation Developer at the National Railway Museum, said:

"Fear and Fascination provides us with a fantastic opportunity to showcase our extensive and rare collection of early railway art which illustrate a turning point in British history. The introduction of railways conjured up a broad and conflicting spectrum of feelings among members of the public and we’re sure that visitors to the exhibition will enjoy exploring the art works which record these public attitudes to the establishment of one of our oldest modes of transport."

This is the third exhibition to feature in the Museum’s Art Gallery which opened in July 2011.  Funded by The Foundation for Sport and the Arts, the purpose-built exhibition space hosts an exciting programme of temporary exhibitions showcasing the Museum’s unseen art collection alongside railway-inspired works of art from across the world. The National Railway Museum’s vast art collection comprises of 11,222 posters, 2,358 prints and drawings, 1,052 paintings and 1,500,000 photographs, many of which have never been on public display.

Other exhibitions confirmed for 2012 include a colourful summer display of holiday posters from the golden age of train travel. The exhibition will draw upon the Museum's bright, colourful and lively poster collection exploring the contrast between the high end, luxury getaways and budget vacations. The Museum is also on track to host a winter exhibition in late 2012 which will explore the challenges of running trains at this time of year through visually exciting objects and posters. Art lovers will take a journey though the falling leaves and bright colours of autumn to the snow drifts and Christmas lights of winter to learn about the seasonal impacts on our railways both past and present. Further information about the Art Gallery and up coming exhibitions can be found at nrm.org.uk/artgallery.
 
Admission to the Museum and Art Gallery is free. ‘Fear & Fascination’ opens on 11 February until 13 May 2012.

ENDS

For more information contact:
Emma Rodgers, Press Officer, National Railway Museum
01904 686281
emma.rodgers@nrm.org.uk

Notes to Editors:

Key artists for this exhibition include JC Bourne, TT Bury, George James Rowe and JW Carmichael.

The National Railway Museum in York covers over 200 years of railway history and its collections include over 100 locomotives , some 250 items of rolling stock and thousands of other objects - from posters and tickets to uniforms and silverware. Visitors can enjoy a fun family day out with the kids including an action-packed annual programme of special events and exhibitions. Admission to the museum is free. For more information visit nrm.org.uk

The National Railway Museum forms part of the National Museum of Science and Industry (NMSI), along with the Science Museum in London, the National Media Museum in Bradford and Locomotion – the National Railway Museum in Shildon.