Come and explore Tiverton’s past and present with a fun trail of sculptured trains designed by the local community.
Tiverton Museum of Mid Devon Life has organised a family sculpture trail called ‘All Aboard!’ in Tiverton and the surrounding area this summer. Local artists, community groups and schools have painted each of the 21 train sculptures which are modelled on the Tivvy Bumper Great Western Railway 1442 steam engine housed at the museum. Director and Mid Devon Museum Officer, Pippa Griffith said: “It’s been a big community effort so far with 18 local artists, 13 local schools, 29 sponsors and many others – that’s before the trail even launches!”
The Tivvy Bumper locomotive is the largest object in the transport gallery at the museum and is the only one in Britain that is easily accessible to the public. Its name was once used for all trains working on the branch connecting Tiverton Station with Tiverton Junction at Willand. Between 1884 and 1964 the mainline trains ran daily and connected at the junction with the Exe Valley trains at Tiverton.
In October 1963 the Exe Valley line closed, but the ‘Bumper’ line between Tiverton Station and Tiverton Junction continued until October the following year; freight continued to use the line until 5 June 1967. After it had been bought by Viscount Amory and restored, Tivvy Bumper 1442 travelled to the old Tiverton station in October 1965 with passengers for the last time.
The ‘All Aboard!’ trail celebrates the streets, parks and heritage of the local area and will encourage thousands of people to enjoy Tiverton. Sculptures can be discovered by foot in the town, with an opportunity to cycle and use public transport to access the remaining sculptures in the surrounding area. A trail map can be collected from Tiverton Museum and all the family can participate. It will be running for 17 weeks from 2 July to 30 October 2016.
