Tag: Stage Prop

Off the Rails: Why would you want a wooden steam locomotive?

Okay. It’s not really a locomotive, it’s a stage prop. From Cumbria.

Train derailment at Woodhead, from Wikimedia Commons. Attribution: Ben Brooksbank.
This is not the train you’re looking for. Move along.

A friend drew my attention to this ITV local news article… Wanted: new home for a life-size replica of a train

The spokesperson for the theatre involved really hasn’t got a clue – offering to donate it to a museum or railway preservationists – but at the same time saying that “Gordon needs to be kept indoors as he’s made of wood”.

Most museums wouldn’t want “Gordon”, because it doesn’t represent anything, because it’s just a wooden stage prop – however painstakingly detailed.

As for railway preservationists, they have enough problems finding enough space to keep real trains, made of metal, that can actually pull coaches and make money, under cover to keep the worst of the elements at bay. The majority of preserved railway sites have either no covered accommodation at all, or a desperate shortage.

What was the production thinking?

I suggest that “Gordon” would be more at home and appreciated in a kiddies play centre.