The Watercress Line Heritage railway near Winchester has been working with over 100 individuals and community groups across Hampshire and further afield to create a series of textile panels depicting two hundred years of train travel in the UK. Each group has adopted a year, theme, topic or key date in train and railway history to focus on and interpreting these in their own way.
Individuals and community groups have been meeting monthly in person at Ropley station (home of the railway’s locomotives and carriages) as well as online since the project started in May 2024 to share their knowledge, skills, passion and enthusiasm for the project and everyone’s work.
The finished series of panels, each measuring 1 metre tall by 0.5 metres wide together form a three-dimensional depiction of railway history.
These panels will tour local libraries and venues across Hampshire until March 2026. These venues include local libraries and venues such as Hollycombe steam collection, and Hampshire Archives in Winchester. Please see www.watercressline.co.uk and the railway’s social media channels for more details about the locations and dates of when and where the panels will be displayed.
Over 100 people from across Hampshire and further afield took part in the project which was partly funded by the Arts Society Alresford. A huge thank you to everyone who took part.
Oakley stichers and residents from Wavell House in Basingstoke created this panel depicting the 1960s era of moving different goods and products by rail
Photo above: the final panels which were displayed at a celebratory event for project participants to see each others work before the panels embark on a tour of local venues from the end of March.
Photo above: the final panels which were displayed at a celebratory event for project participants to see each others work before the panels embark on a tour of local venues from the end of March.
Photo above: panels depicting the Meon valley line during world war one and two, and the opening of the Mid Hants railway in 1865
Author: Daniel Ball
Bio: Dan is the education and outreach coordinator for the Watercress Line heritage railway, and has been in post for just over two years. He has a strong background in museum and heritage learning and community engagement through his previous posts which have included working in a number of museums across Hampshire, including the Army flying museum near Andover, Winchester military museums, Sea City Museum and the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth. He has coordinated a wide range of community projects in many different museum roles including knitting a giant scarf for HMS Alliance at the royal navy submarine museum to working with community groups to co-curate mini exhibitions as part of the Army flying museums project eagle