Forged in Steam is an exhibition of railway photography and mixed media. A Railway 200 Celebration.
Diane Muldowney is a documentary photographer and multidisciplinary artist, based in the Northwest of England, deeply inspired by her family’s long railway history. Her practice weaves together storytelling, portraiture, and documentary traditions to explore the living heritage of Britain’s steam railways.
Diane’s work is rooted in the personal. Her family history includes locomotive drivers, steam-raisers, and station staff, but always extends to the communal: the volunteers, engineers, and artisans who sustain heritage lines.
Forged in Steam investigates the cultural and industrial legacy of Britain’s railways, tracing a continuum from Locomotion No.1 to the new-build P2 Prince of Wales. Through documentary practice and constructed landscape imagery, the work explores themes of labour, memory, and place within the context of heritage preservation.
With contributions from Bess Holt, Ajaz Qureshi, and Andrew Nicholas.
Forged in Steam, hosted by Haworth Art Gallery and Funded by Community Rail Network through the DfT Community Rail Development Fund, Lancashire County Council, Northern and Community Rail Lancashire.