THE historic Skitube alpine railway train has been given a new lease of life thanks to renowned artist Mike Shankster’s large-scale mural covering two train carriages, created with help from Ukrainian artist Arina Apostolova.
The pair spent two weeks covering the carriages with nature-inspired abstract art depicting blurred landscapes, such as gum leaves, to mimic the view from a train’s carriage as you’re travelling through the Kosciuszko National Park on the way to Perisher Resort.
Mike’s parents once ran Perisher Valley’s Willow Lodge (and his dad was later the GM of Electrical for Perisher Ski Resort), where Mike lived until the age of nine, before moving down the mountain to continue primary and high school in Jindabyne.
“It’s a great environment for any child to grow up in and I remember getting snowed in, which was fun, as well as catching the Skitube,” said Mike. “I’ll never forget the smell, the sounds and the feel of that cold air blowing up the tunnel – that’s so close to my childhood memories, as was the taste of the donuts on the Skitube platform.”
He made many close friends with the other kids and families who were also lucky enough to live in the Valley, as well as those whose parents also worked for Perisher.
After a graphic arts apprenticeship in Jindabyne with Blizzard Print, the company who produced the trail maps and marketing design work for Perisher, Mike started freelancing and he hasn’t looked back. He’s produced many large-scale public art pieces, such as at Queanbeyan’s Moore Park Skate Bowl, which he also worked on with Apostolova.
His artwork is inspired from an early love of comic books and cartoons, as well as later influences such as action sports, urban and rural landscapes, people and wildlife, concrete and culture. His aim is to use bold imagery to capture the magic of the world around him.
The Skitube alpine railway is Swiss-designed rack-rail train system that was introduced to improve entry to the Perisher Range ski fields. It remains an easy and safe way to access the resort, especially during snowfalls where chains are required on the drive to Perisher Valley.
It travels through a tunnel in the Ramshead Range to Perisher Resort, stopping in the underground station at Perisher Valley. Guests can either depart there or change trains for Blue Cow via another tunnel through the Perisher Range. The tunnel is Australia's longest transport tunnel at 6.3km long, and at its deepest point is 550m below the surface. Since its start of operations in 1987, Skitube has carried over four million passengers in comfort and safety.
The freshly painted carriages will be officially unveiled to the public on opening weekend of the 2023 snow season.
To view the Skitube winter timetable, visit the Perisher website and Plan Your Trip page. To know more about the artists, visit their respective websites or social media.
Watch Video of the Skitube makeover.
