08 May 2020

Vintage railway posters redesigned to encourage people to avoid beauty spots

08 May 2020

Vintage railway posters have been redesigned to encourage tourists to delay visits to holiday destinations.

York’s National Railway Museum (NRM) has published the set of 10 images covering scenic locations such as Cornwall, the Norfolk Broads and the Yorkshire coast.

The posters were originally used by railway companies to entice passengers to travel to beauty spots by train.

The coronavirus lockdown means that people in the UK are unable to leave their homes for day trips or holidays (National Railway Museum/Science and Society Picture Library/PA)

But they have been redesigned with slogans such as “no swimming today”, “visit when this is all over” and “one day soon, but not today”.

The coronavirus lockdown means that people in the UK are unable to leave their homes for day trips or holidays.

NRM director Judith McNicol said: “At a time of widespread travel restrictions, we hope that recreating a selection of the most popular travel posters will enable people to enjoy some of their favourite holiday destinations while celebrating the style and glamour of these works of art.

The National Railway Museum has a collection of 10,700 posters and other railway artwork (National Railway Museum/Science and Society Picture Library/PA)

“This is also a way for us to show our support for the nation’s keyworkers, including many of the 115,000 railway workers who are continuing to keep things running during this time.

“While we can’t visit these destinations this bank holiday, we hope that these reimagined posters might raise a smile and give people something to look forward to once the lockdown is lifted.”

The NRM, which temporarily closed to the public on March 17, has a collection of 10,700 posters and other railway artwork dating from 1804 to the present day.

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