The Great Rail Restoration With Peter Snow Etched & Blue Glass Panels

Art Glass on Channel 4's Peter Snows Great Rail Restoration.

We were contacted by a team of skilled craftsmen & engineers from the Isle of Wight Steam Railway about a project they were persuing in restoring a rail cart.

As part of this restoration they had 5 victorian royal blue & etched panels they needed recreating.

Before & After

This project would be appearing on channel 4's Great Rail Restorations with Peter Snow,
as a challenge the heritage railway had to undertake the complete restoration of the carrriages in just six months, a endevour that usually takes around six years to complete.

The video contains clips of the glass we worked on appearing in the show, and even a sneak peak into our workshop.

The railway carriage being restored was orginally designed to run on the Isle of Wight and built by the railway carriage company Limited of Oldbury near birmingham.
Oldbury Number 10 was gifted name of the carriage when built in 1864.
Making this project the oldest undertaken for the programme.

The Oldbury Number 10 was one of six oldbury carriages that have been rescued from a state of decay.

We were shipped the orginal glass panels that needed restoring.
We needed to ensure our enamel blue that we fire into the glass matched that of the orginal panels.

Royal Blue Victorian etched glass panels

Royal Blue Victorian etched glass panels

The Orginal Victorian Royal Blue Panels.

Once we were sure the royal blues matched we made rubbings of the orginal glass and scanned them in,
ensuring that the design was a perfect match to the orginal ready to be digitally rendered and applied to screens.

etched glass panels

once we have etched he glass sheets we then apply the blue fired enamel ready to be fired at melting point in the kiln, this ensures the glass is UV stable.

etched glass

The Finish Product.

Once the glass has been fired and cut we get the glass toughened and it's ready to be sent back to the customer.

We were very proud to be involved in this project and adore the outcome!

To see more bespoke glass designs click here.
For Leadlights, click here.
For glass roundels, click here.