Bridgnorth waves a final goodbye to steam train statues
The final whistle has blown for several locomotive statues that were placed around a Shropshire town as part of an art trail seven years ago.
In 2018, Bridgnorth Town Council along with local businesses, the community and local artists, came together to launch the Bridgnorth Arts Trail.
The centrepiece of the event was 13 locomotive statues, sponsored by local businesses, celebrating Richard Trevithick’s famous Catch-Me-Who-Can locomotive, the first train in the world to carry fare-paying passengers, which was built in Bridgnorth.
Catch Me Who Can was the fourth and last steam railway locomotive created by the inventor and mining engineer, and was first tested in the town in July 1808.
The sculptures were decorated by local artists and became semi-permanent features around the town, and while some of the statues were removed in 2023 when the art trail finally ended, several remained at the Quayside, in Castle Grounds, and one at the Hazledine Foundry.
But these statues have finally been removed and are being handed over to their original sponsors after more than seven years of being popular features in the town.
