The New Brighton Tram mural, New Brighton -seaside town regeneration project 2019
Art from A and K
The Wallasey 78 used to run down the Victoria Road and past The New Brighton Hotel and it is at the back of this hotel where we created the #NewBrightonTram.
The Wallasey 79 has pulled into the fictional station named Hope Street Corner and is a symbol for the new, New Brighton. On board are distinguished figures from the past and along the side of the tram run narratives to inspire hope for our future taken from moments of New Brighton history.
It began with a visit to the
Wirral Tram Museum
Alexander and the team visited the Wirral Transport Museum several times to get the details accurate to the Wallasey 79 and to document all the features and insignia. We wanted to turn a building into a tram but make it a play with the true accuracy of the past.
Rob Jones who manages the Museum said at the unveiling –
“The artwork is most ingenious, merging the style and shape of a Wallasey tram and portraying it on the corner of a building is very tricky and the artists have done this most artistically. I hope many people come and see it, those familiar with the Wallasey tram in the museum (No 78) will instantly compare the colours and see the match is perfect.”
He also went on to say his thoughts on the murals around New Brighton –
“Fantastic, they have brought New Brighton alive. A wonderful unique feature. I’m not aware of other towns with such colourful and attractive murals”.
The Story of the Sea Green of Wirral
When the representative of the manufacturer visited the depot on Seaview Road to discuss the new New Brighton tram line upon asking for the colour he was told to see Greene (as in go see Mr Greene) he took this to mean the colour for the new trams would be Sea Green, therefore all trams were painted Sea Green and the current busses are a variation of this Sea Green.
The History of the
New Brighton Tram
The Wirral Railway reached New Brighton in 1888 and was laid to take traffic away from the New Brighton ferries, with passengers being able to travel to the centre of Liverpool with one change at Birkenhead Park.
On 17th May 1902 a third line was opened, from Seacombe to New Brighton via Warren Drive.
The final tram voyage was the Wallasey 78 on 30th November 1933. All trams were subsequently sold on and have all been lost over the course of time. However, in 1985 the Wallasey 78 was found in a farm in North Wales and was taken back to the Wirral Transport Museum, where it took many years to restore back to its former glory.
Ian Edward Fraser and Wilfred Owen
The artwork features James Atherton (the man that founded New Brighton) appearing as the conductor, a parrot flying off with a bar of Lifebuoy soap (a reference to Port Sunlight where Unilever was founded down the road) and Wilfred Owen (famous WWII soldier and poet from Birkenhead) travelling with the local war hero Ian Fraser inside the tram. Upon seeing her father in the window of our Wallasey 79, Nichola Fraser said –
“It was very humbling to see Dad next to Wilfred Owen in the mural. It’s an excellent likeness. The mural is an honour and I feel it depicts Dad from when he was in the Merchant Navy.”
Taking the local youth to the museum
We made sure our tram was as close to the original features as the last remaining tram that has been at the Wirral transport museum. We took all the local boys that had helped us on the tram mural to see the original tram and have a tour of the museum after the making the mural. We believe that for artworks and murals to be maintained and preserved local children should actively be engaged into the creation and educated on the idea and history of the mural.
