Double rail heritage celebration in Newton Abbot

A Double celebration of railway heritage is set to take place in Newton Abbot on Tuesday May 6.

The first event at 11am will mark the official unveiling of the All Aboard art installation in Keyberry Road.

The project, which features a 30m-long depiction of a locomotive and railway carriages carrying items from the museum’s GWR collection, has breathed new life into a grim pedestrian underpass below the mainline railway.

The work was coordinated by Community Outreach Worker Kate Green and made possible by an £8,500 grant from the Teignbridge Arts Project.

Some elements of the installation are printed on large aluminium panels with the mural painted by local artist Caroline Brady.

The whole piece was influenced by extensive public workshops in which residents pored over museum artefacts and highlighted those which resonated most with them.

The installation also features QR codes linking to oral archives in the museum’s rail collection.

The day’s second event at 12pm will take place at the nearby British Rail Western Region signal gantry on Torquay Road.

One of Newton Abbot’s best loved landmarks, the 70-year-old structure was showing its age but has been renovated by volunteers from South Devon Railway in a project led by the museum and Newton Abbot Town Council.

It was supported by donations to the museum, in particular from the late Denis Lewis of the Railway Studies Group.

Curator Dr Charlotte Dixon said: ‘It’s wonderful to see these two projects coming to fruition, something only made possible by the many volunteers who willingly contributed their time, creativity, effort and donations, we’re very grateful indeed.

‘Newton Abbot’s rail heritage runs deep with the town once referred to as “the Swindon of the west”.

‘The gantry is one of the first things people see as they enter the town from the A380 and the underpass is used by hundreds of pedestrians every day.

‘Both sites were a bit sad and neglected, now they are treasured assets and we know from the public’s feedback that they’re delighted with the results.’

The two events will be led by Mayor Cllr Alex Hall and involve many of the volunteers who took part including pupils from local primary schools.