Forgotten Cuneo painting goes on display at Derby Museum of Making

A forgotten painting by renowned railway artist Terence Cuneo has gone on display at Derby Museum of Making. Depicting Alstom’s Litchurch Lane Works in 1959, the trainmaker has loaned the artwork to the Museum, marking its record-breaking railway festival, The Greatest Gathering.

Alstom’s Cuneo oil painting was safely stored on site several decades ago ahead of refurbishment works and never went back on display. It was during preparations for The Greatest Gathering that organisers reached out to the Museum of Making to ensure that the artwork’s historical significance was fully recognised and enjoyed as widely as possible. The Museum of Making at Derby Silk Mill, the world’s first modern factory and part of the Derwent Valley Mills, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, showcases the region’s 200-year history of innovation, ingenuity and creativity.

An accomplished portraiture and landscape painter, Terence Cuneo (1907-1996) is most synonymous with his artworks depicting the railways, particularly the transitional period between steam and diesel traction. He was also the official artist for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

Terence Cuneo’s ‘DMU at Derby Carriage and Wagon Works’ from 1959 depicts the construction of a British Rail Class 108 diesel multiple unit (DMU) at Alstom’s UK factory, today known as Derby Litchurch Lane Works. A total of 333 Class 108s were built at Litchurch Lane between 1958 and 1961, serving passengers across Great Britain for over 30 years.

An example unit featured in the painting returned to Derby and starred in The Greatest Gathering earlier this month. The restored two-car Class 108 – comprised of coaches No. 51941 and No. 52064 – is based at Severn Valley Railway and part of the DMU Group (West Midlands), and festival organisers arranged for the oil painting to be briefly reunited with the train that inspired it.

“Terence Cuneo’s painting is a powerful reminder of Derby’s proud railway heritage and the enduring legacy of British engineering. We’re delighted to see it on public display, especially following The Greatest Gathering, which brought together generations of railfans to celebrate our factory’s historic and ongoing contribution to trainmaking,” said Andy Butters, Managing Director of Derby Litchurch Lane Works at Alstom.

Over three days (1-3 August 2025), Alstom welcomed over 40,000 railfans from around the globe at its Derby factory as part of the world’s largest-ever gathering of historic and modern rolling stock. Marking The Greatest Gathering, the Museum of Making opened until 10pm on Friday 1 August, while Derby Market Hall hosted a fringe event across the weekend for visitors to the city.

“Derby Museums is very excited to display this wonderful painting by renowned railway artist Terence Cuneo. The painting beautifully illustrates Derby’s railway heritage, linking the historic Alstom site with the collections at the Museum of Making – home to our Railways Revealed gallery, Railway Study Centre and the Midland Railway Society collection. It was thrilling that our model railway volunteers could take part in the record-breaking Greatest Gathering – a phenomenal tribute to the 200th anniversary of the birth of the modern railway.” said Laura Phillips, Head of Curation at Derby Museums.

The trainmaker’s sold-out charity extravaganza formed part of the wider festivities for Railway 200, a year-long celebration marking the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) on 27 September 1825 – and a journey that gave birth to the modern railway. It also marked the first time in almost 50 years that the Derby factory had opened its doors to the public.

Derby Litchurch Lane is one of the world’s largest rolling stock factories, and the only UK facility that designs, engineers, builds and tests trains for domestic and export markets. The factory was opened by the Midland Railway in 1876 and the city of Derby has been building trains continually since 1839. In 2022, Derby was chosen by the Government as the home of Great British Railways following a vote by the public between contender cities.

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