Clun Castle Comes to Sutton Bridge

The train now standing at Shrewsbury's Sutton Railway Bridge...has been painted by local artist Rich Keay. Rich, who designed this year's Belle Vue Arts Festival poster and decorated the windows of no fewer than five local business for the Festival, has recently turned his hand to murals, showing the bridge some love with a vibrant tribute to iconic steam engine 7029 Clun Castle. Built at Swindon in 1950, the engine achieved legend status in 1965 when it hauled the last official steam train out of London Paddington. Its links to Shropshire through its name and its history as part of British Rail Western Region – which means it would have been a familiar sight on the line spanned by the bridge – made it the perfect subject for commemoration.

The mural is the brainchild of Shrewsbury's graffiti-remover extraordinaire John Edwards. A Facebook call-out for an artist who could turn his vision into reality was seen by one of Rich's friends, who encouraged him to get involved. It wasn't all plain shunting however. The mural's design was dictated by the unique shape of the brick-built bridge-side parapet it now covers. “I was a bit restricted in what I could do” says Rich. “The space is quite long, but it's only about a metre and a bit high. Because of that it could only be a side-on view of the train, and I could only paint it travelling right to left as you look at it because the space gets even narrower at one end.”

Authenticity has also been an important consideration. “I've done as much as I can to keep it authentic” says Rich. “The Western Region engines were painted a specific shade of green, known as Deep Brunswick Green, so I had to get that right. Painting on uneven brickwork means it's never going to be a completely photorealistic piece of art, but I did my best. I studied online photographs of the train and I've got all the proportions correct and the secondary colours and pinstriping, and I've got the right number on it. So it's good enough.”

A particularly poignant feature is the mural's dedication to retired signalman John Morris 'and all the men who've worked in the Sutton Bridge Signal Box'. After checking with Mr Morris and his family, Rich has confirmed that the box, which stands adjacent to the bridge, has never had any female signal operators. Mr Morris's wife was guest of honour at the mural's official unveiling on 2^nd July.

So after all the hard work – how have locals reacted to the area's newest artwork? “Overwhelmingly positive” says Rich. “Children especially love it. Lots of people stopped while I was doing it, to compliment it and say how walking past it brightens their day. Neighbours were offering me cups of tea and things like that. The people who live round there are really happy about it. It's got connections to the area – people appreciate that. It just shows what a bit of public art, not costing very much, can do. It's not just that it makes the place look nicer, it actually makes people feel better.”

Protected by anti-graffiti coating, it's hoped that the mural will be delighting passers-by for many years to come. And if you're inspired to see the original Clun Castle, it now resides at Tyseley Locomotive Works Museum in Birmingham and can still occasionally be seen around the railway network, hauling excursions and other 'special' trains.

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