You should always look in your library window. It’s where the most interesting stuff is. As our imaginary railway correspondent Angus Young found.
Like all good stories this one started with a small poster in the window of my local library. It featured an eye-catching image of an old steam train and an open invitation to get involved in something rather unusual. Intrigued, I dropped an email to the supplied address and after a few days later project director Tina replied. “Thank you for getting in touch. I’m pleased you found the project through the library poster, It shows that people actually read them,” she said.
So what’s it all about, Tina?
“In brief, the Brackenlowe Halt Project is a Hull-based community arts and storytelling project built around a fictional lost railway halt, a Victorian signalman and a growing world of gentle children’s stories. I’m thinking of an online cross between The Railway Children crossed with The Animals of Farthing Wood for children aged between four and seven.
“The aim is to create a calm, imaginative reading word that can support education, creativity and local cultural participation,” explained Tina. “A big part of the project is also about an opportunity for local creatives. As it develops, we hope to involve illustrators, writers, artists, educators, performers, musicians and other creative people who may want to help shape and ‘restore’ the world of Brackenlowe Halt.
“We are currently developing the Brackenlowe Halt Reading Room as an online story space with the first introductory story being made freely available. Longer term, we hope the project can support schools, nurseries, libraries and community organisations through story-led educational resources and creative activities.”
The idea is for collaborators to join the not-for-profit project to create a range of resources, from audio stories to illustrated flip books with a weekly drop-in session being planned for creatives. At the moment, the project is still in its early stages using a mixture of prototype visual and storytelling tools to test the concept and receive audience feedback. As a result, there’s some AI being used to develop the main characters who include a story-telling railway signalman and a group of forest animals who live nearby.
“Over time, we hope to create a growing library of gentle children’s stories inspired by this lost world, “ said Tina. “Whether you are an experienced practitioner or simply someone who enjoys imaginative storytelling and creative thinking, you are welcome to join us.”
You can find more information about the project in the supplemental materials below. It’s also on BlueSky and on its own self-titled YouTube channel.
Angus Young