Artist on Board
Story Lines: Writer in Residence
The Bishop to Saltburn Line
Translating Tales from the Train
As the North East steams ahead to the bicentenary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway in 2025, six local creatives have begun gathering stories from today’s passengers and why the railway matter. They will be resident on the Bishop to Salyburn train route, as they chat to passenger and collect stories from those who use the line regularly to those visiting from afar.
The artists are seeking to capture the everyday stories of why people travel, passengers’ most memorable train travel stories and how they feel about riding along the route of the oldest locomotive-hauled passenger railway.
Storylines is commissioned by North East social enterprise Citizen Songwriters CIC in partnership with the Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership.
They will translate those stories into poems, plays and performances for show case in September 2023.
The Song 'I'm Going To See You' was created after I (Lizzie) wrote a poem based on the stories of several wonderful people that I spoke to on the Bishop to Saltburn train. They were all so excited to go and see their families and friends.
I sent a recording of the poem to Sam who looked at the structure and felt that it was meant to be song. He started writing and after a week this was the final result.
It's wonderful to hear my words in musical form, its something I hope to do again one day. Thank you so much Sam!
Jill was one of the wonderful people we spoke to while travelling on this project. She agreed to be interviewed and to have a poem written about her story, translating her beautiful personality into a spoken word piece. I (Lizzie) wrote the two poems, now joined as one, Jills Perspective and Jill the Wanderess after a day spent together at Bishop Auckland train station.
