It has sparked controversy
Bristol street artists Inkie, Cheo and Jody have been commissioned to decorate a heritage railway carriage in the style of the 1980s, at Avon Valley Railway in Bitton.(Image: Avon Valley Railway)
A heritage railway on the edge of Bristol has sparked controversy after it commissioned three of the city’s most famous street artists to cover one of its vintage carriages in graffiti as if it were a New York subway carriage in the 1970s.
Avon Valley Railway asked Inkie, Jody and Cheo – three street artists from Bristol who were among the original from the city’s graffiti scene in the 1980s – to create a ‘Street Art Train’, which will be on display at Bitton Station on the eastern edge of Bristol.
They were commissioned to spray paint one side of a heritage railway carriage with street art designs from the 1980s – there’s even a Margaret Thatcher with devil horns in there, for added authenticity – for an up and coming short film.
But there has been quite the backlash against the Avon Valley Railway when they revealed the project on their social media. The railway operates as a charity, and runs steam trains up and down a former line across the eastern edge of Bristol that was closed down in the Beeching cuts of the 1960s.
Avon Valley Railway had to reassure heritage railway enthusiasts that the windows of the carriage was covered with latex first so the paint can just be peeled off, that the carriage is yet to be restored by the volunteers at the charity so nothing was damaged – and the paint will actually help protect the carriage until it is restored.
But the main complaint from those outraged was that it would encourage other graffiti artists to target heritage railway carriages – something Avon Valley Railway then had to address.
“We were delighted to host ‘Inkie’, ‘Jody’ and ‘Cheo’ to our station site at Bitton,” said Mark Hill, the general manager at Avon Valley Railway.
“We identified a suitable carriage – currently awaiting restoration – and to make it available to these well-known and highly respected artists so that they could apply their designs.
“Some of the windows received a protective latex covering, thus providing a larger canvass area without any lasting damage to the vehicle,” he added.
Bristol street artists Inkie, Cheo and Jody have been commissioned to decorate a heritage railway carriage in the style of the 1980s, at Avon Valley Railway in Bitton.(Image: Avon Valley Railway)
The street art carriage is available to see as a static display at Bitton Station every day the steam trains operate, and those running the charity said they hope it will attract more people to visit and ride on the trains themselves.
In a statement, Avon Valley Railway said: “Avon Valley Railway would like to state that that the public SHOULD NOT use this artwork as a ‘green light’ to apply their own street art to the precious and irreplaceable collection of vintage locomotives, carriages, rolling stock and buildings.”
There was an initial backlash from supporters of Avon Valley Railway and heritage rail enthusiasts around the country, as images of the newly-painted carriage were shared around that community.
“The problem isn’t this particular artwork, it’s the precedent,” Alan Barton wrote on the railway’s social media page. “Most heritage railways spend eyewatering sums of money repairing and preventing vandalism.
“However well-intentioned this project is, many people won’t know it was commissioned. They’ll simply see a heritage railway displaying a graffiti-covered carriage, exactly what many ‘unauthorised artists’ thrive on.
“Given the amount of effort the heritage sector puts into preventing exactly that, it feels like a strange message to be sending,” he added.
The Engine Shed Brewery, a Yorkshire-based brewery closely affiliated with heritage railways around the country, were also among the artwork’s detractors.
Bristol street artists Inkie, Cheo and Jody have been commissioned to decorate a heritage railway carriage in the style of the 1980s, at Avon Valley Railway in Bitton.(Image: Avon Valley Railway)
“Sorry to say this guys, but that is sacrilege to heritage stock and is a bad example to set as youngsters who see it will think that it’s OK to ‘tag’ other stock as well,” they commented.
But then other railway enthusiasts and street art fans defended the railway and supported the artwork.
Paul Berkman commented that he was ‘laughing’ at the people saying this would give a ‘green light’ to graffiti artists to target heritage trains. “Graffiti artists have always managed to find plenty of coaches to spray up without any kind of green light,” he said.
“In the meantime this is bringing in a much needed revenue stream, the coaches haven’t been restored yet so aren’t being damaged by the paint, and if it’s going to be done anyway it’s better that a heritage line makes some money than the producers just buying a scrap carriage and filming on a lot somewhere.
“Well done AVR for thinking outside the box. Something that we need more of in the heritage railway industry,” he added.