A poignant unveiling at Folkestone West for three colleague-designed Railway 200 sculptures
As part of our ongoing Railway 200 celebrations across our network, three colleagues recently collaborated with the Strange Cargo Arts Company to produce three bronze sculptures, which are now permanently on display outside Folkestone West station.
Back in March, Cathie Pilkington RA, a renowned sculptress, travelled to Folkestone West and ran a workshop with:
- Daniel Rushbrook, Station Manager
- Hazel Polden, Platform/Sales
- Jeffery Hudson, Ticket Gates
As you can see from the pictures, each colleague was given a piece of clay to work with and asked to create artworks that reflected the past, present and future of the railway.
Cathie said: “We had a terrific workshop with Hazel, Dan and Jeff and everyone talked about their personal history of working on the railway – Jeff had been a railway worker for 52 years, which was amazing!
“We were given a talk by Andrew Baldwin, from the foundry, about the process of bronze casting and how to approach making their clay models and how to use the various tools. Everyone liked the idea of making train engines and we printed off images of different types of trains, so that the final examples reflected trains across the centuries. They all produced terrific clay sculptures which were cast into bronze by Andrew at the foundry.”
During the workshop, they also came up with the name for the installation – “Is this the right platform for…?”
A lasting legacy for Jeff Hudson
The unveiling ceremony last week, hosted by Passenger Services Director David Wornham, carried extra significance as our colleague Jeff Hudson died before he could see his bronze in place.
His family were there to see his lasting legacy being revealed for the first time, with his grandson able to help with the curtain at the key moment.
Platform/Sales Hazel Polden said: “We chatted at the start and none of us are natural artists (not sure my pottery class at school counts!) but I was really impressed with the results. At the unveiling, it was just so nice to see Jeff’s family, and I was really amazed by the turnout – both from colleagues and the local community. I really enjoyed the whole experience and feel proud to have taken part.”
Station Manager Daniel Rushbrook said: “I had my first meeting with Bridget Oraninski (Artistic Director of Strange Cargo) when I started at Folkestone West in 2024, and she showed me all the statues (which have been built up over the years) and went through all the community engagement opportunities they can help us with.
“Nikki Causer approached me with the Railway 200 idea last year and putting Hazel and Jeff forward to contribute was a no-brainer – the station is Hazel’s home patch and Jeff was at the end of his 52-year railway career with us and had recently been diagnosed motor neurone disease (MND). I wanted to make sure he got involved so he had something that lasts and ended his career with us on a high. He inspired so many new colleagues as he approached retirement, despite his failing health.
“The process with the moulding and casting was fantastic and Andrew was brilliant. I attempted to make a highspeed train, Hazel did a Mainline unit, and Jeff did the steam train with ‘Hudson 52’ on the side, which was a nice touch. It was just so nice to see people who had given so much to the railway get something back and it’s great that Jeff’s family can go to Folkestone West and say, “My Dad, Husband, Granddad did that”. His name is on the side of the building and will stay there forever.
“We were astounded by the number of people who attended on the day. So many people were there, and I met so many local people in the community that I hadn’t met before. Not only did we get to celebrate Jeff’s life but also engage with the local community and Councillors on upcoming promotions, such as the anti-idling campaign to protect local school children.”
Head of Marketing Nikki Causer said: “I was approached by Brigitte a few years ago saying that Folkestone station has got 24 plinths on the front of the building and they’d love to do something special and unique with them.
“There was also a lot of work in the background by our fantastic facilities team – especially Steve Cross, who made sure it was safe from a structural point of view.”
About Strange Cargo Arts Company
Strange Cargo is based in Cheriton, near Folkestone, and focuses on participatory arts. They have developed a practice that engages local people in the arts, offering an active role in creating high quality artwork where they live.
The ‘Resident Platform’ programme brings artists and Folkestone residents together to create sculptures that are permanently displayed on plinths at Folkestone West station. This Railway 200 tribute is the eighth in the series and brings the total of bronzes on display up to 16 (artist Cathie Pilkington matches each resident contribution with one of her own)