Illustrator as witness: Exploring traditional print as heritage-making in response to the rail tours of Nº60007 Sir Nigel Gresley on the East Coast Mainline

Initially established as a master’s enquiry and presented as a poster at the 14th International Illustration Research Symposium Illustration & Heritage: Sharing Histories to Draw Out Futures , this practice-based research evolved as a response to the bicentennial of the first passenger railways in Britain. This visual essay summarizes a wider investigation into illustration as a conduit for the nostalgia of British railways and as a tool for legitimizing hidden stories.