Alstom, a world leader in smart and sustainable mobility solutions, has announced a meaningful collaboration that brings together art and industry. The company is delighted to announce that the talented Nottinghamshire-based artist Tim O’Brien has been appointed as the official artist in residence for The Greatest Gathering, the UK’s largest railway celebration, for 2025. This special commission also forms a key part of the wider annual festivities, Rail 200, which celebrates the 200th anniversary of the birth of the modern railway.
Alstom’s “The Greatest Gathering” event, to be held at the historic Litchurch Lane Site in Derby from 1–3 August 2025, is set to offer a unique experience for railway enthusiasts and art lovers. During this three-day festival, thousands of visitors will have the opportunity to watch Tim O’Brien’s “en plein air” technique, as he paints the unique railway vehicles on display at Britain’s largest railway celebration, the event’s vibrant atmosphere and the impressive architecture of the historic factory. A term of French origin, “en plein air” refers to the practice of painting outdoors, where the subject of the artwork is directly located, and O’Brien’s combination of this technique with the railway theme will add a different artistic dimension to the event.
Tim O'Brien: Railroad Passion Meets Art
Expressing his excitement at being invited as the official artist, Tim O’Brien said, “It is a great privilege and honour to be invited by Alstom as the official artist and to immortalise this bicentenary celebration in art. I have always been a fan of Terence Cuneo’s railway art and as a child I practised drawing using my Hornby OO gauge steam engines as subjects, so this opportunity is off the scale.” O’Brien’s childhood passion for railways and his admiration for the renowned railway artist Terence Cuneo make this special commission even more meaningful to him.
“One of the biggest challenges for plein-air artists is to be overwhelmed by the variety of subjects in front of me at an event like this and not try to depict too many things on one canvas. I would have to quickly focus on one look and simplify it so that it becomes a study in color and atmosphere,” O’Brien said, also touching on the difficulties of the “en plein air” technique, stating that he aimed to create impressive works focused on color and atmosphere by simplifying the event’s intense atmosphere and diverse subjects.
Railway Landscapes by Award-Winning Artist
Tim O’Brien, 55, an award-winning artist, writer and teacher, began his career as an advertising illustrator before turning fully to fine art in the mid-1990s. Covering a wide range of subjects including military history, public events, rail, maritime and automotive, O’Brien has worked with both the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy over the years. This collaboration has given him the opportunity to fly with the RAF and spend days at sea on aircraft carriers with the Navy, providing him with a wealth of reference material for his art.
Tim O'Brien's impressive paintings have been exhibited in prestigious venues such as the Mall Galleries in London and the Patchings Art Centre in Nottinghamshire. The artist had his first solo exhibition at the Royal Air Force Club in London in 2015, which commissioned him to create 25 paintings to be permanently displayed in the dining rooms overlooking Green Park. O'Brien's expertise in a wide range of subjects and his mastery of the en plein air technique were instrumental in his selection as the official artist of The Greatest Gathering.
“The Greatest Gathering”: The Railway’s Past, Present and Future All Together
‘The Greatest Gathering’ will open its doors at Alstom’s historic Litchurch Lane Site in Derby from 1-3 August 2025. As Britain’s largest and oldest surviving train factory, the historic venue will feature more than 50 rolling stock displays, spanning the railway’s rich past, dynamic present and innovative future. Another highlight of the event is that the site will be open to the public for the first time in almost 50 years, providing a unique opportunity for railway enthusiasts and history enthusiasts to experience the factory’s historic atmosphere up close. This unique event, combined with Tim O’Brien’s en plein air performance, is set to bring together the worlds of art and rail in an unforgettable way.
