{"id":637345,"date":"2026-06-13T22:51:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T22:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/637345\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T22:51:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T22:51:10","slug":"the-rusty-toast-rack-sculpture-getting-an-80000-glow-up-and-why-its-a-by-election-issue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/637345\/","title":{"rendered":"The ‘rusty toast rack’ sculpture getting an \u00a380,000 glow up – and why it’s a by-election issue"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Ghost Engine feature in Horwich is being restored but some believe ‘sending it off to the scrap yard’ would have been the best option<\/p>\n

(Image: The Ghost Engine sculpture near the Middlebrook retail park is having an \u00a381,000 refit)<\/p>\n

A controversial piece of public art currently undergoing an \u00a381,000 refit has become an unlikely by-election issue.<\/p>\n

The \u2018Ghost Engine\u2019 feature which sits at one of the entrances to the Middlebrook complex in Horwich has been described as a \u2018rusty toast rack\u2019 and \u2018so corroded even scrap merchants won\u2019t touch it\u2019.<\/p>\n

When installed, on a roundabout near the Tesco<\/a> Extra store, the gleaming white structure was deemed to be a symbol of the town\u2019s railway locomotive building past.<\/p>\n

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The \u2018ghost engine\u2019 depicts a train engine emerging from the ground pointing upwards.<\/p>\n

However, the steel was not galvanised and over the years the paint and metal has deteriorated to leave it in a sorry state.<\/p>\n

The matter was first brought before Bolton<\/a>\u2019s full council by Horwich and Blackrod First (HBFI) councillor, David Grant in 2024.<\/p>\n

He said its state \u2018shows a distinct lack of appreciation to a town\u2019s history, culture, and image\u2019.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

(Image: The sculpture is currently covered)<\/p>\n

\u201cNo care and attention has been given to the \u201cGhost Train\u201d that sits at the entrance to the largest retail space in the country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt should be a historical reminder of the town of Horwich\u2019s proud contribution to the railways but is instead a rusted, hole ridden bit of scrap metal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, a Liberal Democrat amendment the council\u2019s 2026\/27 budget finally addressed the issue, with \u00a381,000 to be spent on \u2018refurbishing and repainting\u2019.<\/p>\n

The \u2018glow up\u2019 was funded after \u00a31.35M of one-off funds was returned to Bolton council from the Greater Manchester Waste Authority,<\/p>\n

The work is currently ongoing with the structure presently enveloped by a huge white covering.<\/p>\n

In the past week the work has been at the centre of a spat between Reform UK and Horwich & Blackrod First, who are contesting a by-election, along with other parties in the nearby Horwich North ward, which will be held on July 2.<\/p>\n

Bolton\u2019s Reform UK leader Trevor Jones, said: \u201cThe Horwich and Blackrod First Party are paying over \u00a381,000 to have this so called locomotive monstrosity refurbished.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis refurbishment will only last around five years then need to be done again.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis monument is an insult to the historic train building that made Horwich famous around the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cSending it off to the scrap yard would have been the best option.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coun Grant responded saying it was \u2018another random claim\u2019 from Coun Jones.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cIn relation to the Loco works monstrosity or the \u2018ghost engine\u2019 \u2013 it wasn\u2019t HBFI.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was actually a Lib\/Dem amendment to the Labour<\/a> administrations\u2019 budget. \u201cWe supported it as it\u2019s money coming into Horwich, that\u2019s good but it\u2019s nothing that we actually actioned.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking when the decision was made on the sculpture spending, cabinet member Nadeem Ayub, said: \u201cThe Horwich ghost train sculpture is a much loved local landmark.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has long needed refurbishment and we\u2019ve tried to look for solutions.<\/p>\n

\u201cAllocating \u00a381,000 will ensure that this unique piece of our cultural heritage is preserved and well restored for future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Full list of candidates standing in Horwich North on July 2:Graham Dawson (LAB)Peter Hopkinson (IND)Raymond Ndokwo (CON)Wendy Parkinson (REFORM)Nicola Salmon (GREEN)John Scoble (HORWICH & BLACKROD FIRST)Scott Turner-Preece (LIB\/DEM)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Ghost Engine feature in Horwich is being restored but some believe ‘sending it off to the scrap…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":637346,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,2193,1120,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-637345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-bolton","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=637345"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637345\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/637346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=637345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=637345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=637345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}