A new dawn for Mackintosh 150th anniversary celebrations
As part of Glasgow’s celebrations to mark the 150th anniversary of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Virgin Trains have named a train after him.
The architect and designer was born in the Townhead area of Glasgow in 1868 and one of his most famous designs is the Lighthouse Building in the city which is Scotland’s national centre for architect and design.
The train has been called the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Express and will run on the West Coast Main Line, which connects Glasgow to Manchester, Birmingham and London.
The train arrived at Glasgow Central station at 09:45 this morning and the celebrations included a dressed up Charles Rennie Mackintosh, whilst the train has Mackintosh’s famous moustache on it, as well as his name in his own style of lettering.
At the event was the leader of Glasgow City Council, Councillor Susan Aitken, who said: “It’s a really nice gesture from Virgin to do this, it’s a big year for Glasgow and for Charles Rennie Mackintosh, we want to make 2018 a really big year to celebrate CRM [Charles Rennie Mackintosh, to celebrate the enormous contribution he made not just to Glasgow but to the whole world.
“He was our homegrown genius, we haven’t always treated him very well in the past, so this year we need to make that up to him and do him proud in his 150th anniversary. So things like this, helping to join the celebrations and get the word out there to people are really welcome and it’s a really nice bit of fun thing to do.”
This is the first time since 1996 that a train has been named after Macintosh and people are being encouraged by Virgin to send photos of themselves on Twitter next to the train’s Macintosh moustache or lettering by tweeting #trackthemack, with prizes to be won.
Councillor David McDonald, the council’s deputy leader and chair of Glasgow Life said: “It’s one of a series of events that are happening throughout the year to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Mackintosh and I think it’s a great way for people to arrive in Glasgow.
“What better way than to arrive on board the Charles Rennie Mackintosh train when you’re coming up to Glasgow to see some of his great works, some of his great buildings, because I think he’s so integral to the very fabric of the city. It’s great that Virgin are able to join the many organisations that are celebrating Mackintosh this year.”
A tourism boost is expected in Glasgow as the city celebrates the 150th anniversary of one of the most famous Glaswegians.
