The golden age of railway posters featured lovely views of locations in stations throughout the country.
Designed to promote holiday destinations served by railway companies, historic railway posters from the 1920s-50s were often created by well-known artists.
North East destinations which were chosen included Durham with 10 different posters, Berwick with five, and Bamburgh, Hexham, Whitley Bay, Tynemouth, South Shields and Hadrian’s Wall.
But many other places in the region missed out - and now Tyneside artist Peter Dixon has launched a venture to put them on the map at last after many decades.
Peter, who lives in North Shields, has a background in graphic design and illustration and uses original photographs and postcards as the basis for his railway poster-style creations.
He has produced first time posters for North Shields showing sail fishing boats, Jarrow and its historic St Paul’s Church and monastery, Wallsend which is portrayed with a shipyard launch, and Cullercoats with its fishwives.
Peter has also painted his own take on Newcastle’s castle keep, the famous view of the Tyne bridges from a train crossing the river, Marsden beach in South Tyneside, Whitley Bay and Tynemouth.
He has set up a website, www.nsgallery.co.uk to showcase his prints which are for sale.
He is also open to suggestions from people who feel that their home patch deserves a vintage-style rail poster and what it should feature.
“It is a new venture but I have already sold posters up and down the country to people who say ‘I used to live there or I come from there’.
Everybody has places which are close to their hearts,” said Peter.
“The original railway posters were notable for their bold use of colour, their idealised design and now for the nostalgia they create for what seems like a different, simpler world.
“If a place was chosen for a poster in the past it would have delighted local residents and businesses who would have thought it fantastic that their neck of the woods would be seen in stations across the country.
“I am sure lots of people would like to see their home location finally gets its own poster and I would look at any suggestions,” said Peter who is working on his latest production which shows the Flying Scotsman locomotive pulling into Newcastle with the Keep in the background.
