Smart Art

The Cambrian Railways Partnership (CRP) have unveiled their latest piece of rail artwork, by Abersoch artist Neil S.Hopkins, as part of a marketing campaign to promote rail tourism in Mid Wales.

The smart art shows an Arriva Trains Wales 158 train at Harlech station with the imposing castle in the background which was commissioned to promote the TRAIN STAY SAVE promotion which affords visitors who travel by train a 10% discount at accommodation across the Mid Wales.

Gerwyn Jones on behalf of the CRP said “We chose Harlech as the setting for the latest addition to the collection because there is a very active local group, in the form of the Harlech branch of the Women’s Institute, who have adopted the station and have transformed it with flower arrangements and murals depicting Welsh imagery and legend. We also wanted to feature the castle as we have worked in partnership with CADW on a promotion which offers rail passengers two for one entry to this iconic attraction”.

Most of the stations on the Cambrian network have an active group of local people who undertake work to enhance them under the Arriva Trains Wales station adoption scheme.

Postcards and posters, featuring the artwork are available at train stations and Tourist Information Centres on the Cambrian rail network with proceeds going to local good causes including the Wales Air Ambulance, British Red Cross and Save Machynlleth Clock appeal.

Machynlleth Councillor Michael Williams commented ”The postcards and posters have been really popular as marketing tools in their own right. What’s been especially pleasing is that they’ve generated considerable amounts in support of local good causes which has further strengthened the relationship between the railway and the communities it serves”.

The artwork used in the Cambrian promotional material is to feature in the third volume of a series of books, Poster to Poster – Railway Journeys In Art, by the author Richard Furness which chronicles the usage of  art through the ages in railway marketing due to be published in January 2011.