Short course
Architecture on the Tracks: Railway Architecture, 1830s to Today
Course status:
Applications being accepted
Dates:
21/01/2027 - 25/03/2027
Study format:
In-person weekly
Fees:
£315.00
The introduction of railways in the early nineteenth century transformed life by speeding up travel and telescoping distance from hitherto days to hours. Even Paris and Berlin could be reached from London within a day. It also transformed the landscape and and made a dramatic impact on town centres as houses gave way to railway tracks. New kinds of buildings were created to cater for the needs of the traveller as well as the locomotives; carriages and goods. New buildings and structures were designed included stations, both grand and modest, hotels, viaducts, bridges and tunnel portals, signal boxes, locomotive and good sheds. A new dimension was added in the twentieth century with the introduction of underground systems such as in London with exciting avant-garde stations. Railway companies adopted house-styles based on the classical or gothic, or even the local vernacular for specific regions of the country.
The course will explore the impact of railway architecture and structures through photographs, early engravings and paintings, even railway posters. We will explore great railway landmarks in Britain, the problems of maintenance and conservation, especially since the Beeching cuts of the 1960s. We will including the work of the heritage movement as seen on the Bluebell and Severn Valley railways. We will also look to Europe and beyond to bring in some masterpieces such as Antwerp Railway Station and the classical Roman grandeur of Washington DC.
Students will be directed to suitable web-sites, You-Tube films, and notable railway landmarks which may be visited. Relevant books and railway journals will be mentioned.
Book this course
Book your place online using the button below.
Programme details
Courses starts Thursday 21 January 2027
This is an in-person course which requires your attendance at the weekly meetings in Oxford on Thursdays, 2.00-4.00pm.
Week 1: Introduction: Course overview and Britain at the beginning of the nineteenth Century, the transition from the canal to the railway age
Week 2: London to Birmingham and London Bridge to Greenwich
Week 3: J.C. Bourne’s prints of the building of the Great Western Railway from London to Bristol.
Week 4: Early railways in contemporary art and the projection of railway travel through prints and early posters.
Week 5: The ‘battle of styles’ as reflected in early railway architecture. Stations both grand and modest
Week 6: Railway tunnel portals, bridges, viaducts and other railway structures
Week 7: The London Underground and other suburban railway systems
Week 8: A look beyond our shores, some grand railway architecture from Europe and beyond
Week 9: Some masterpieces of steam locomotive design before the modernisation of the railway system from the 1960s. Its implications implications for the architecture of Britain’s railway system.
Week 10: The contemporary railway heritage scene; to restore, demolish or recreate?
Teaching methods
This course will be delivered by power-point. However students will be given additional notes including historical tables and maps relevant to topics covered as the course progresses. Appropriate books and web-sites will be suggested, as well as places which may be visited or sought out on-line. Students will be encouraged to ask questions and enter into discussion at appropriate times. As a result the weekly programme of areas discussed is not rigid and we may wish to spend more time in certain areas.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course students will be expected to:
1. to be aware of the impact the introduction of railways had on travel in the early nineteenth century.
2. to be familiar with the range of new kinds of buildings, structures and new materials required to support this new form of transport.
3. to see these new buildings in the context of stylistic and structural development from the early railway age to the present.
4. to identify regional or house-styles introduced by railway companies into their buildings.
5. to be aware of the problems of maintaining the architectural heritage of railways in the modern age, and the work of the railway heritage movement and preserved railways.
Assessment methods
Assessment
Only those students who have registered for assessment and accreditation, in advance of the course start date, can submit coursework/assignments for assessment.
You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first of 500 words is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.
Level and demands
The Department’s Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, ie first year undergraduate level, and you will be expected to engage in a significant amount of private study in preparation for the classes. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class.
There are numerous books on railways but not so many specifically on railway architecture. For preliminary reading students may like to read: The Architecture and Legacy of British Railway Buildings by Robert Thornton and Malcolm Wood, 2020
Course aims
To explore the new form of architecture to cater for the needs of this new form of transport which transformed travel across the world.
Course objectives:
1. to introduce the student to the challenges facing early railway pioneers
2. to examine the range of new kinds of buildings created to cater for the needs of both travellers and infrastructure including locomotives
3. to place buildings in to the context of stylistic and structural developments in the 19th and 20th centuries
Programme details
Courses starts Thursday 21 January 2027
This is an in-person course which requires your attendance at the weekly meetings in Oxford on Thursdays, 2.00-4.00pm.
Week 1: Introduction: Course overview and Britain at the beginning of the nineteenth Century, the transition from the canal to the railway age
Week 2: London to Birmingham and London Bridge to Greenwich
Week 3: J.C. Bourne’s prints of the building of the Great Western Railway from London to Bristol.
Week 4: Early railways in contemporary art and the projection of railway travel through prints and early posters.
Week 5: The ‘battle of styles’ as reflected in early railway architecture. Stations both grand and modest
Week 6: Railway tunnel portals, bridges, viaducts and other railway structures
Week 7: The London Underground and other suburban railway systems
Week 8: A look beyond our shores, some grand railway architecture from Europe and beyond
Week 9: Some masterpieces of steam locomotive design before the modernisation of the railway system from the 1960s. Its implications implications for the architecture of Britain’s railway system.
Week 10: The contemporary railway heritage scene; to restore, demolish or recreate?
Teaching methods
This course will be delivered by power-point. However students will be given additional notes including historical tables and maps relevant to topics covered as the course progresses. Appropriate books and web-sites will be suggested, as well as places which may be visited or sought out on-line. Students will be encouraged to ask questions and enter into discussion at appropriate times. As a result the weekly programme of areas discussed is not rigid and we may wish to spend more time in certain areas.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course students will be expected to:
1. to be aware of the impact the introduction of railways had on travel in the early nineteenth century.
2. to be familiar with the range of new kinds of buildings, structures and new materials required to support this new form of transport.
3. to see these new buildings in the context of stylistic and structural development from the early railway age to the present.
4. to identify regional or house-styles introduced by railway companies into their buildings.
5. to be aware of the problems of maintaining the architectural heritage of railways in the modern age, and the work of the railway heritage movement and preserved railways.
Assessment methods
Assessment
Only those students who have registered for assessment and accreditation, in advance of the course start date, can submit coursework/assignments for assessment.
You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first of 500 words is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.
Dr Hubert Pragnell
Hubert Pragnell has been a part-time tutor for Oxford Lifelong Learning since 2003. He trained in fine art at the Ruskin School of Fine Art in Oxford, as well as holding a masters degree, and doctorate in history from the University of York. He is a tutor in history of architecture and has written and illustrated a number of books on British architecture. He has a special interest in buildings including industrial from the 16th to the 20th century.
Programme details
Courses starts Thursday 21 January 2027
This is an in-person course which requires your attendance at the weekly meetings in Oxford on Thursdays, 2.00-4.00pm.
Week 1: Introduction: Course overview and Britain at the beginning of the nineteenth Century, the transition from the canal to the railway age
Week 2: London to Birmingham and London Bridge to Greenwich
Week 3: J.C. Bourne’s prints of the building of the Great Western Railway from London to Bristol.
Week 4: Early railways in contemporary art and the projection of railway travel through prints and early posters.
Week 5: The ‘battle of styles’ as reflected in early railway architecture. Stations both grand and modest
Week 6: Railway tunnel portals, bridges, viaducts and other railway structures
Week 7: The London Underground and other suburban railway systems
Week 8: A look beyond our shores, some grand railway architecture from Europe and beyond
Week 9: Some masterpieces of steam locomotive design before the modernisation of the railway system from the 1960s. Its implications implications for the architecture of Britain’s railway system.
Week 10: The contemporary railway heritage scene; to restore, demolish or recreate?
Teaching methods
This course will be delivered by power-point. However students will be given additional notes including historical tables and maps relevant to topics covered as the course progresses. Appropriate books and web-sites will be suggested, as well as places which may be visited or sought out on-line. Students will be encouraged to ask questions and enter into discussion at appropriate times. As a result the weekly programme of areas discussed is not rigid and we may wish to spend more time in certain areas.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course students will be expected to:
1. to be aware of the impact the introduction of railways had on travel in the early nineteenth century.
2. to be familiar with the range of new kinds of buildings, structures and new materials required to support this new form of transport.
3. to see these new buildings in the context of stylistic and structural development from the early railway age to the present.
4. to identify regional or house-styles introduced by railway companies into their buildings.
5. to be aware of the problems of maintaining the architectural heritage of railways in the modern age, and the work of the railway heritage movement and preserved railways.
Assessment methods
Assessment
Only those students who have registered for assessment and accreditation, in advance of the course start date, can submit coursework/assignments for assessment.
You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first of 500 words is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.
Level and demands
The Department’s Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, ie first year undergraduate level, and you will be expected to engage in a significant amount of private study in preparation for the classes. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class.
There are numerous books on railways but not so many specifically on railway architecture. For preliminary reading students may like to read: The Architecture and Legacy of British Railway Buildings by Robert Thornton and Malcolm Wood, 2020
Fees
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course fee (with no assessment) | £315.00 |
| Assessment and Accreditation fee | £60.00 |
Module code: O26P473HCW
How to enrol
Please use the ‘Book now’ button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an enrolment form.
How to register for accreditation and assessment
To be able to submit coursework and to earn credit (CATS points) for this course, if you wish to do so, you will need to register and pay an additional £60 fee. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online.
Students who do not register for CATS points during the enrolment process will not be able to do so after the course has begun.
If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education at the Department you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.
