About us
The creator of Wings Wheels and Rail Gallery is Simon Glancey. Both the idea for the website and the illustrations themselves are his and come from a long held interest in design, history and technology.
The portfolio originated with airbrushed illustrations of motorbikes which he researched and produced during his spare time throughout 15 years in central London creative agencies. As a designer Simon was anxious that his illustrations should be about the machines and that the viewer’s eye should be caught by nothing other than the sheer intricacy of the engineering excellence and styling. That set the principle for the current collection.
A graduate of Sunderland University, Simon was keen to return to the North East and took the opportunity to move to rural Northumberland and retirement from commercial work. From there he has been able to indulge an enthusiasm for football and aviation history. He was the developer of neaa.co.uk, a site which illustrated some of the very many planes from WW1 onwards either operational from the North East of England or ending their days there.
With the kernel of a collection established, Simon spent two years building a range of profiles of trains, bikes and planes to make up the original Wings Wheels and Rail Gallery collection which was launched in December 2004.
Since then Simon has added a portfolio of cars, buses, military vehicles and most recently ships, all in the clean style of Wings Wheels and Rail Gallery.
He has completed a number of commissions from manufacturers, museums and societies as well as owners. Simon’s work is regularly published in trade journals, magazines and books.
Extensive research is the hallmark of every illustration on the Wings Wheels and Rail Gallery site. In the same vein Simon is a significant contributor to the North East War Memorials Project newmp.org.uk ensuring that the sacrifices of those that served will not be forgotten and importantly, that future generations might access their stories.
The portfolio originated with airbrushed illustrations of motorbikes which he researched and produced during his spare time throughout 15 years in central London creative agencies. As a designer Simon was anxious that his illustrations should be about the machines and that the viewer’s eye should be caught by nothing other than the sheer intricacy of the engineering excellence and styling. That set the principle for the current collection.
A graduate of Sunderland University, Simon was keen to return to the North East and took the opportunity to move to rural Northumberland and retirement from commercial work. From there he has been able to indulge an enthusiasm for football and aviation history. He was the developer of neaa.co.uk, a site which illustrated some of the very many planes from WW1 onwards either operational from the North East of England or ending their days there.
With the kernel of a collection established, Simon spent two years building a range of profiles of trains, bikes and planes to make up the original Wings Wheels and Rail Gallery collection which was launched in December 2004.
Since then Simon has added a portfolio of cars, buses, military vehicles and most recently ships, all in the clean style of Wings Wheels and Rail Gallery.
He has completed a number of commissions from manufacturers, museums and societies as well as owners. Simon’s work is regularly published in trade journals, magazines and books.
Extensive research is the hallmark of every illustration on the Wings Wheels and Rail Gallery site. In the same vein Simon is a significant contributor to the North East War Memorials Project newmp.org.uk ensuring that the sacrifices of those that served will not be forgotten and importantly, that future generations might access their stories.