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An illustration of the front of a yellow and black train. The train features the word “Westrail” and the number “3134” repeated twice across the top.

Illustration: Bright, beautiful freight trains from british illustrator Toby Neilan

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Date
17 January 2014

We’ve praised him previously for his terrific use of colour and his effortless renderings of fabrics as simple, understated forms, but we really didn’t expect to be lauding Toby Neilan’s ability to paint trains. The majority of Toby’s portfolio is full of fashion and architecturally-minded illustration that plays fast and loose with rich colour palettes; and then there’s this great collection of freight trains somewhere in the middle that show off an entirely different set of interests. Somehow, with a liberal smattering of dots, lines and blocks of colour, Toby has managed to create images that border on the lifelike and leap off of the screen with a freight-weight force.

A digital illustration of the front of a dark purple train engine against a grey background. The number “9536” appears twice at the top, and a white band across the centre features a black silhouette of a rearing horse.
Above

Toby Neilan: Freight Trains

A digital illustration of the front of a blue and yellow Csx locomotive. The train features the number “2578” on its headlights and the “CSX” logo across the centre.
Above

Toby Neilan: Freight Trains

An illustration of the front of a yellow train against a grey background. The train features a blue and white winged logo and the number “7711” displayed twice at the top.
Above

Toby Neilan: Freight Trains

An illustration of the front of an orange and yellow Bnsf locomotive. The number “4348” is displayed twice above the windshields.
Above

Toby Neilan: Freight Trains

A digital illustration of the front of a red Ferromex locomotive against a grey background. The train features the number “2017” on its roof and a black and white striped cowcatcher at the base.
Above

Toby Neilan: Freight Trains

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About the Author

James Cartwright

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James started out as an intern in 2011 and came back in summer of 2012 to work online and latterly as Print Editor, before leaving in May 2015.

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