THE ROMANCE OF THE RAILWAY
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York Station I by Ian Scott Massie

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Reduction Screen Print - Edition of 7
16" x 12" Mounted size - 9" x 7" Image size
Available: framed @ £179, unframed @ £130
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YORK STATION

I love York station, happy to gaze at the pleasing curve of the track, the decorated ironwork and the magnificent clock. On one memorable day, I was standing on the main through-platform when the Flying Scotsman reversed in to couple onto a Scarborough-bound train. Chancing my arm, I asked the driver if I could join him on the footplate. He welcomed me aboard. ​

But the station that a train pulls into today is actually the third York Station. The first was a temporary wooden structure outside the city walls. The second, a much grander affair, involved piercing the ancient walls with a Tudor-style arch, and running trains into a terminus at Toft Green. As traffic increased the need to reverse trains out through the walls to continue their journey became a major problem and a through station was designed.

The result is one of the finest stations in Britain. When it opened on June 25th 1877 it was the largest station in the world. Its beauty is due to several combining elements: the warm gold of the stone work, the elegance of the supporting piers and the gently curving line of the roof which the platforms and track reflect. The design of the roof is made particularly harmonious by the subtle grading of the roof supports which spread the curve outward.

The National Railway Museum is sited at the north end of the station in a former locomotive depot. Its enormous and accessible collection covers every aspect of British railway history including a trio of icons of the East Coast Mainline:  The Flying Scotsman, Mallard and the elegant Stirling Single locomotives. The museum also houses a vast array of supporting material - platform furniture, carriages, signalling equipment and original posters.

How it would look on your wall

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