Gresley statue at Kings Cross
Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 6:26 pm
This has just landed in my inbox:
Latest News from the Gresley Society
PRESS RELEASE - IMMEDIATE
THE GRESLEY SOCIETY TRUST TO ERECT STATUE OF
SIR NIGEL GRESLEY
AT LONDON’S KING’S CROSS STATION
Permissions granted by Network Rail,
Camden Borough Council, and English Heritage.
London’s King’s Cross station is to be graced by a statue of Sir Nigel Gresley, the renowned mechanical engineer who designed locomotives, carriages and wagons for the London & North Eastern Railway from 1923 until his death in April 1941. His achievements include the design of Mallard, the fastest steam locomotive in the world, Flying Scotsman, and famous streamline high speed trains such as Silver Jubilee in 1935 and Coronation in 1937. He also invented vehicle articulation, still used by railway and tramway engineers around the world to this day. Sir Nigel was knighted for his services to the LNER in 1936.
The bronze statue will be a standing figure about seven feet six inches tall, on the same scale as the figure of Sir John Betjeman next door at St. Pancras station. It will be sculpted by Hazel Reeves SWA, FRSA, who also sculpted maquettes of the figure to assist the Gresley Society Trust in obtaining permissions to erect the statue.
Hazel Reeves’ final maquette will now be used by the Gresley Society Trust in raising money for the statue. The expected cost is £95,000, which the Society is now seeking to raise by public subscription. Donations may be made to the Gresley Society Trust through its website, http://gresley.org/ It is hoped that all who admire the work of Sir Nigel will wish to be associated with the statue by contributing to its cost.
The statue will be placed in the Western Concourse, beside the entrance to the Ticket Office, by the wall to West Offices where Sir Nigel and his principal assistants worked until the outbreak of war. Sir Nigel’s likeness will be standing in a familiar pose, holding a copy of The Locomotive magazine. He will be accompanied by a mallard, symbolic of his most famous locomotive. Sir Nigel was known for rearing mallards at his pre-war home, Salisbury Hall, near St Albans. The accompanying wall plaque will carry a QR code, which visitors to the statue may scan by smart phone, to direct them to the Society’s website. A photo of the maquette is an attachment to this press release.
It is planned to unveil the statue on 5 April 2016, the 75th anniversary of the death of Sir Nigel.
David McIntosh, Chairman of the Gresley Society Trust, said: “This is an inspiring project for the Society. In the past we have erected memorials of various kinds in Edinburgh, York and beside the line where Mallard achieved her record speed, and now we are to honour Sir Nigel in London, where he had his office for the last and most productive eighteen years of his life.”
Hazel Reeves, sculptor, said: “I am greatly excited to be deeply involved in this project. Ever since I was asked to make proposals for the statue, and to create maquettes for its evolution, I have been aware of Sir Nigel Gresley and his considerable contribution to the field of engineering. Now that we have permission to erect a full-size statue at King’s Cross, I can express my admiration for the man in a very real way.”
[3/11/14]
- ENDS -
Latest News from the Gresley Society
PRESS RELEASE - IMMEDIATE
THE GRESLEY SOCIETY TRUST TO ERECT STATUE OF
SIR NIGEL GRESLEY
AT LONDON’S KING’S CROSS STATION
Permissions granted by Network Rail,
Camden Borough Council, and English Heritage.
London’s King’s Cross station is to be graced by a statue of Sir Nigel Gresley, the renowned mechanical engineer who designed locomotives, carriages and wagons for the London & North Eastern Railway from 1923 until his death in April 1941. His achievements include the design of Mallard, the fastest steam locomotive in the world, Flying Scotsman, and famous streamline high speed trains such as Silver Jubilee in 1935 and Coronation in 1937. He also invented vehicle articulation, still used by railway and tramway engineers around the world to this day. Sir Nigel was knighted for his services to the LNER in 1936.
The bronze statue will be a standing figure about seven feet six inches tall, on the same scale as the figure of Sir John Betjeman next door at St. Pancras station. It will be sculpted by Hazel Reeves SWA, FRSA, who also sculpted maquettes of the figure to assist the Gresley Society Trust in obtaining permissions to erect the statue.
Hazel Reeves’ final maquette will now be used by the Gresley Society Trust in raising money for the statue. The expected cost is £95,000, which the Society is now seeking to raise by public subscription. Donations may be made to the Gresley Society Trust through its website, http://gresley.org/ It is hoped that all who admire the work of Sir Nigel will wish to be associated with the statue by contributing to its cost.
The statue will be placed in the Western Concourse, beside the entrance to the Ticket Office, by the wall to West Offices where Sir Nigel and his principal assistants worked until the outbreak of war. Sir Nigel’s likeness will be standing in a familiar pose, holding a copy of The Locomotive magazine. He will be accompanied by a mallard, symbolic of his most famous locomotive. Sir Nigel was known for rearing mallards at his pre-war home, Salisbury Hall, near St Albans. The accompanying wall plaque will carry a QR code, which visitors to the statue may scan by smart phone, to direct them to the Society’s website. A photo of the maquette is an attachment to this press release.
It is planned to unveil the statue on 5 April 2016, the 75th anniversary of the death of Sir Nigel.
David McIntosh, Chairman of the Gresley Society Trust, said: “This is an inspiring project for the Society. In the past we have erected memorials of various kinds in Edinburgh, York and beside the line where Mallard achieved her record speed, and now we are to honour Sir Nigel in London, where he had his office for the last and most productive eighteen years of his life.”
Hazel Reeves, sculptor, said: “I am greatly excited to be deeply involved in this project. Ever since I was asked to make proposals for the statue, and to create maquettes for its evolution, I have been aware of Sir Nigel Gresley and his considerable contribution to the field of engineering. Now that we have permission to erect a full-size statue at King’s Cross, I can express my admiration for the man in a very real way.”
[3/11/14]
- ENDS -