A couple of years ago I did a post in the grphette that had appeared in the underpasses on the Pen Inn roundabout in Newton Abbot well last week when I was walking in to pick up my TT from it’s MOT I came across another one, this time it’s under the rail bridge near the Sainsbury’s supermarket.
I suspect it was done around the same time but you wont see it from the road.
It’s rather appropriate as it’s rail themed and consists of 10 panels on one side and a long painted mural on the other.
The first panel is an advert for the Newton Abbot museum which has a large rail history section as Newton Abbot was a major hub and engineering works for the GWR but its history stretches back to 1846 when it started of as the South Devon Railway Company with the line to Teignmouth. Living in Newton I must admit Ive never been to the museum I drive past it every time I go to my Dad so I guess I really should.
Ok Hivers lets look at the panels the first one is a a steam engine 6412 has been around a bit it was on this line for a bit in the 60s but has also been used on the Paignton to Kingswear line and Buckfastleigh to Totnes lines both local historic Steam preservation lines.
The other panels cover the history of the line and are train carriage themed with old photographs from the museum.
The next panel is rather interesting as it shows some of the work of a local artist who worked for GWR and his drawings of locos and some of the other railway workers are really amazing.
The next panel takes us back to the Victorian age of steam and some drawing by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. IKB as he was known was one of Britain’s most prolific engineers of the Victorian age designing ships, railways, bridges and tunnels.
Following that the panel covers the effect of the railway on Newton Abbot once a major employer in the town with shunting yards and an engine works.
Next is a panel about the effect of the railway on mass tourism Newton Abbot is the start of the branch line down to Torbay allowing travellers from London and the Midlands to get to the seaside and English Riviera before we all had cars and motorways.
The final panels are goods wagons as you would expect with GWR memorabilia from the museum including guards whistles badges and lanterns.
This panel shows some of the railway station and signal equipment.
The last panel has some of the old railway signage which is really collectable there’s days and often go for high prices an auction.
Finally Hivers I’ll leave you with a few photos of the mural on the other side of of the underpass a nice mix of of modern and old railways.
That's nice. We do like our trains in the UK and there's a lot of history. I missed a steam train coming through our station the other day, but I see a few around there.
We have a few local heritage lines run in steam trains and I saw one of the historic locos along the line between Dawlish and Teignmouth a couple of months ago.