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National Railway Museum hits the beach

Jamie and his team have been transforming 20 tonnes of sand into a spectacular sculpture inspired by the 1930s seaside holiday getaway in the museum’s South Yard.

GWR 4-4-0 No 3440 City of Truro, which is pulling daily steam rides over the summer holidays, is acting as Jamie’s real-life model for the train in his enormous work of art which will be on display until 5 September.

Jamie has travelled all over the world making sculptures from ice, snow and sand, but is very excited about crafting a rail-related piece at the home of the railways. He said:

“Being surrounded by 200 years of Railway history at the National Railway Museum should push me to create something really spectacular. It’s the 175th anniversary of the founding of the Great Western Railway, which promoted itself as the holiday line, so I’m feeling really inspired by that, especially having seen some of the Museum’s poster collection. I’m from Yorkshire so coming home to work on a piece at Yorkshire’s No 1 attraction is really welcome - I get tired of living out of a suitcase.”

Jamie, a former environmental scientist discovered his talent for sculpture when visiting the Norwegian fjords, when he came across a Norwegian artist creating figures including the Queen for a Tea Company’s English Tea Party. Invited to have a go, Jamie realised he had a calling, and soon left for Oslo to learn his craft.

Visitors can talk to Jamie about his work as he adds the finishing touches to his massive sculpture as well as enjoying a variety of summer holiday treats, some free, all fun, such as gliding on water inside a six foot beach ball, dressing-up in 1930’s style holiday costumes, a trip on the miniature railway, or a treat from the BBQ.

For those wanting to learn more about the ‘holiday line’, the ‘Great Western Railway Reflections’ exhibition currently on display within Search Engine, the NRM’s research and archive centre, explores the history of the GWR through the technology, advertising and paraphernalia it produced. Daily steam rides are taking place behind City of Truro, a GWR locomotive well known for steaming passengers to the Cornish Coast between 10.30am and 4pm. Sand for Jamie’s sculpture was kindly donated by Wickes.

Meanwhile, Heritage Railway editor Robin Jones has written a new bookazine. Great Western Railway: 175 Glorious Years, which is now available price £7.99. Further details are available on this website.