Paris design duo HeHe, Heiko Hansen and Helen Evans revived history with the M-Blem, an autonomous vehicle that ran on the world’s first recognizable modern inter-city railway, the Liverpool and Manchester. During the AND (Abandon Normal Devices) Festival in 2012, the M-Blem awaited ticket holders, two passengers at a time, at the original station building of the Manchester to Liverpool line (now part of the Museum of Science and Industry). Passengers removed their shoes, got settled in, pressed the red button and took off. They were taken to Manchester by way of the original tracks that are now abandoned.
The automated travel experience was a co-commission by AND and The Arts Catalyst, in partnership with The Region Ile de France. The vehicle was devised in response to AB Clayton’s painting of the inaugural journey of the Liverpool and Manchester Railroad created in 1830, depicting several individual-sized carriages that follow the tracks that run from Manchester’s Liverpool rail station.
While alluding to the original passenger carriages with its signs and platforms in the painting, the M-Blem remains up-to-date. It runs electrically as opposed to the original steam-powered version and recharges at designated solar charging stations. The locomotive cabin accommodates a maximum of two passengers at a time who sit barefoot upon a red fabric cushion. This light-weight and modern-looking caboose is fitted with an overarching, glass window to the world.
