Beatroute Arts

“We’re going on a train ride… hold on tight!”

If you could take a Glasgow subway carriage to literally anywhere in the world – or out of it – where would you go?

This question was the starting point for a unique collaboration between Radiophrenia and Beatroute Arts, engaging dozens of children in creative sound recording, radio art and music-making, during Summer 2026.

We wanted to make art themed around Beatroute’s beloved 117 subway carriage, one of SPT’s decommissioned fleet which now resides outside Beatroute’s premises in North East Glasgow.

We visited Riverside (Glasgow’s technology and transport museum) to record some of their sounds and noises, then we returned to Beatroute to create some of our own.

“It’s like lots of tunnels, and it goes super fast…”

We came up with our own six imaginary “stops”, then we created music and sounds to represent each calling point. We recorded our own train announcements, designed our own subway carriage doors, and put on a special show for our friends and families. This has become our own audio artwork for Radiophrenia.

Come with us in our subway carriage, as we visit a magical forest, another planet, the past, and even the future…

Facilitation, production and sound design by Ros Fraser and Steve Urquhart, with music facilitation by Zoe Graham.

Beatroute Arts is a community-led charity offering free, creative opportunities for young people from Balornock, Barmulloch and across the Springburn/Robroyston areas of North East Glasgow. Activities include music tuition (drums, guitar, piano, singing, ukulele, violin, cello) and music workshops (including musicianship, ensemble playing, songwriting, sound production and much more).