Trains and Automobiles

Steam versus internal combustion has always been a favourite subject with railway artists. Many steam railway jigsaws feature this intriguing pairing, inviting people to think about how the  motor car made major inroads into the railway's domination of transport in the early to mid 20th century. Today's post, 3rd October 2011, comprises two pics of jigsaws from my 400+ British steam railway collection portraying this subject pairing in slightly different ways.

The first picture shows a jigsaw of 500 pieces from the Dutch company King International. Racing the Train is the title but I rather think that the vintage Singer car, an open top 1936 Le Mans, might have struggled in a true run race against a mainline passenger locomotive such as the example in the jigsaw picture, a Bulleid 'Pacific'. The driver and lady passenger seem to be enjoying the race, however. The locomotive is a 4-6-2 'Merchant Navy' class, No.35022 Holland America Line, designed for the Southern Railway by Oliver Bulleid, and  currently at the preserved East Lancashire Railway, under restoration. The artist is R. Wheatland.

The second picture, showing a 500-piece jigsaw from Gibsons, offers a different perspective on the post title. In this jigsaw, titled Brighton Bound, a vintage 1920's/1930's Bentley (?) car is portrayed, parked beside a railway line, as the elderly driver and his lady passenger stand alongside waiting to view a passing steam train. The latter is a London Victoria to Brighton Pullman express. Both locomotive and car look majestic and combine to make a superb jigsaw from the original artwork of Malcolm Root. The latter artist is well known for his love of all types of transport and its interaction with the general public. The locomotive in the picture is a Marsh/Billinton 4-4-2 'Atlantic' No.424, one of the 'H2' class of six, built in 1911-1912,  at Brighton Works. The superb livery of the London Brighton & South Coast Railway is best described as umber.

Two vertical format jigsaws

The landscape format is, and always has been, the dominant shape for jigsaw puzzles and easily accommodates a picture of a train or locomotive. The vertical format is quite rare in comparison but can produce a very effective puzzle. The two puzzles I have chosen from my collection, for today's post, 24th September 2011, emphasize the latter point.

The first picture shows a Victory wooden puzzle of 100 pieces titled Southern Railway Express "Bournemouth Limited", from the mid 1930's (T6). The express was introduced in July 1929 and ran from London's Waterloo Station to the popular Dorset seaside town. The service was curtailed during World War II but reinstated in 1945, without its name. However, the origin of the express was in a 1911 service  when the London & South Western Railway began a Waterloo - Bournemouth express until the outbreak of World War I. The 'Bournemouth Limited' was renamed 'The Royal Wessex' in 1951 under British Railways. The locomotive heading the Southern Railway (SR) green passenger stock in the jigsaw picture is SR 'King Arthur' class 4-6-0, No 789 Sir Guy. The class was originally designed by Robert Urie of the London & South Western Railway between 1919 and 1922. From 1923 the Chief Mechanical Engineer (1923-37) of the SR, Richard Maunsell, redesigned the class and built additional locomotives. The class eventually totalled seventy four.

The second picture shows a 100-piece wooden puzzle from Bes-Time titled The Royal Scot. The jigsaw picture has been painted in a poster-like style, with lots of impact, but neither the artist or details of the jigsaw manufacturer / retailer are known to me. The class of seventy 4-6-0 locomotives were originally designed by Sir Henry Fowler. The first fifty were built by the North British Locomotive Company in 1927 and the final twenty by British Railways Derby Works in 1930. However, the class was completely rebuilt between 1943 and 1955 by Sir William Stanier and George Ivatt. The location in the jigsaw picture appears to be a large terminus station (Euston?); a signal box is included next to the line.

The picture in jigsaw number one incorporates a wider angle and a higher viewpoint  than jigsaw number two and hence, may appeal more to pictorialists.

Lumar and Intalok Zig-Zag

Today's post, 14th September 2011, features two photographs of jigsaws made by different manufacturers, the latter not as well known as others described in previous posts.

The first pic shows a wooden Lumar puzzle of 220 pieces from c1933. 'The Flying Scotsman' express train is featured steaming through a very picturesque landscape. The jigsaw title is simply The Flying Scotsman; it is incorporated into the puzzle as a striking legend. The locomotive in the picture may be one of (Sir) Nigel Grsley's class 'A1' or 'A3' 4-6-2s. The famous express occupies a small part of the overall picture but is an integral part of it. The artist is not known to me. The name Lumar was a shortened form of the company name, Louis Marx Ltd., of London.

The second picture shows an untitled wooden, Intalok Zig-Zag jigsaw of about 150 pieces, part of the Winners series. The locomotive heading what appears to be London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) teak coaches is of 4-6-0 wheel configuration. Can anyone identify it? If so please email me (email address is at the top of the blog). The identification of both location and artist is also unknown to me but the artwork is strong, poster-like and reproduces as a fine jigsaw puzzle. Zig-Zag was a London-based company manufacturing a huge range of jigsaws in the early 20th century. The Intalok Zig-Zag branded puzzles probably resulted from a joint venture with the Richard Art Company Ltd.; some were branded as RACO.

The Busy Junction

Busy railway junctions have proved to be very popular with artists and jigsaw manufacturers over many years. A location with many railway lines, converging or otherwise, offers the potential for more traffic and the two jigsaws chosen from my collection for today's post, 8th September 2011, show this potential to real effect.

Picture one shows one of my favourite puzzles of this type, a 200-piece wooden example from Victory titled Southern Railway Atlantic Coast Express. The location is Seaton Junction, East Devon but the artist is not named. The painting appears to be a direct copy, in colour, of a monochrome photograph in the collection of the Royal Air Force Museum. The photograph, titled A busy scene at Seaton Junction, is accompanied by the following legend "Southern Railway King Arthur class N15 locomotive E451 Sir Lamorack with an express passing S15 824 light engine and 0-4-2 D Class on a local train". The same junction is featured in Barry Freeman's painting Heavyweights at Seaton reproduced as a 1000-piece puzzle by Gibsons - this puzzle was featured in the post of 13th July.


The Busy Junction, a 400-piece jigsaw from Good Companion is shown in the second picture. The jigsaw shows a busy East Coast Main Line with 'A1' class locomotive No.60130 Kestrel hauling a passenger train passing a similar train hauled by a main line diesel locomotive. The artist is not named**. Above, a long freight train crosses the main line over an arched girder bridge linked to a long brick viaduct. The locomotive is a mixed traffic type but the number, on the smokebox door, is unclear. It may be No.60800 Green Arrow, one of (Sir) Nigel Gresley's 'V2' class 2-6-2 workhorses. Arthur Peppercorn, Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London & North Eastern Railway from 1946 until nationalisation of the railways in 1948, designed forty-nine 'A1's, delivered after nationalisation.

** I have been reliably informed by Jez Gunnell that the artist is T. E. North. Jez is the owner of the original artwork signed by the artist. Thanks for the information. This adds to the many other pieces of North's artwork reproduced by Good Companion.

Rural Steam

Steam train enthusiasts prefer to see their icons in a railway infrastructure setting but manufacturers of jigsaw puzzles cater for more cosmopolitan tastes. Jigsaws depicting a steam hauled train in a picturesque rural environment are popular with jigsaw enthusiasts of many persuasions, and manufacturers are quick to target the sales potential of this pairing. In today's post, 30th August 2011, I am using two pictures of jigsaw puzzles that fit the rural steam genre.

The first picture shows a 500-piece puzzle by Waddingtons titled A Country Life. The superb artwork is by Don Breckon. In the picture a small branch line train on the Great Western Railway (GWR) is relegated to the background while integrating perfectly into a strictly rural scene. A small 'Manor' class 4-6-0 locomotive, No.7807 Compton Manor, is shown heading GWR chocolate and cream carriages. A country cottage and adjacent small-holding, with goats, chickens, ducks and a horse to the fore, complete the picture. This is certainly one of those jigsaws that radiates peace and serenity from a quiet corner of the British countryside.


The second picture, of a 636-piece 'Panoramic' Gibsons puzzle, shows a British countryside farming scene titled Bringing in the Barley. The jigsaw is reproduced from original artwork by Derek Roberts. At the head of at least two, British Railways (BR) maroon, suburban passenger coaches is an ex-GWR, 5700 class 0-6-0 pannier tank (No.7725?).  In the foreground - a cut barley field - a picnic appears to be taking place including adults, a child and the obligatory dog. A bright red tractor, attached to a crop-filled cart, and a Morris Minor Traveller car are also included in a busy scene. Two other small children wave at the train from a trackside gate and the engine driver reciprocates.

Both of the locomotives shown in the above jigsaw photographs were common on GWR and BR Western Region branch lines serving countryside communities. Both jigsaws depicted would appeal to steam train officianados and jigsaw enthusiasts with broader affiliations.

Two more from Victory

For today's post, 23rd August 2011,  I am using two photographs of small jigsaw puzzles from the famous G. J. Hayter stable, more famously known as Victory. Both puzzles are small and probably aimed at children, but for serious collectors of steam train jigsaw puzzles, they are a must have.

The first picture features the famous experimental 4-6-4 locomotive of (Sir) Nigel Gresley as a 45-piece Victory jigsaw puzzle. The locomotive was placed in class 'W1' and numbered 10000. Because of the secrecy surrounding her ground-breaking design and development, she became known as the 'Hush Hush' locomotive. After entering service in 1929 from Darlington Works, the locomotive suffered many problems and, as a result, was completely rebuilt in 1936. She re-entered service on the LNER a year later as a class 'A4' look-alike, but retained the 4-6-4 wheel configuration. In BR days she was renumbered 60700 and finally withdrawn from service in 1959. The jigsaw shows the rebuilt locomotive in a works environment but is untitled; the artwork was by T. E. North.

The second picture features a 'Royal Scot' class 4-6-0 locomotive as a 45-piece Victory jigsaw titled Merseyside Express. The parallel boilered class was designed by Henry Fowler and entered service in 1927. The locomotive in the picture is LMS No. 6117 Welsh Guardsman; she is shown heading LMS maroon coaches. The artist is from the 'F. Moore' range of the Locomotive Publishing Company. The class of 70 was rebuilt with tapered boilers by (Sir) William Stanier/George Ivatt from 1943; smoke deflectors were added later.

Compare and Contrast

The title of today's post, 18th August 2011, is self explanatory. I want you to study the pictures of the early, pioneering locomotive of George Stephenson (left) and an example of a 1943 'giant', designed by Sir William A. Stanier (right), and come to your own conclusions.

It is doubtful if communities have ever been as involved with railways, as the thousands of people who turned up to watch the opening of the Stockton & Darlington Railway (S&DR) in 1825 or the Liverpool & Manchester Railway (L&MR) in 1830. Similar crowds had gathered to witness George and Robert Stephenson's Rocket claim the £500 first prize at the L&MR Locomotive Trials, at Rainhill, in 1829.  At all of these events, the physical presence of steam powered 'monsters' caused fear among some beholders, curiosity among others and admiration among the majority. A few, particularly landowners and those with canal interests, who realised that they might lose out financially, showed contempt. The L&MR is well represented in jigsaw manufacture, the S&DR, less so.

George and Robert Stephenson's north-east engineering works also won the right to build the initial locomotives for the L&MR. A superb painting by Alan Fearnley, Rocket at Rainhill, reproduced as a 1000-piece jigsaw by Waddingtons and titled Stevenson's Rocket, (with incorrect surname spelling) is shown above. The painting / jigsaw expertly conveys the crowd's emotions displayed at the Rainhill Locomotive Trials, of 1829. 

The battle for speed and supremacy between the East Coast Main Line and the West Coast Main Line for the London to Glasgow / Edinburgh rail traffic, (which had begun as early as1888), eventually resulted in huge 4-6-2 locomotives being designed by (Sir) Nigel Gresley and (Sir) William A. Stanier, respectively. The latter built his 'Princess' and 'Princess Coronation' class locomotives in response to Gresley's 'A1/A3' and 'A4' class equivalents. Stanier's class of thirty-eight, 'Princess Coronation' 4-6-2 or 'Pacific' locomotives, were built over many years, 1937-1948, as World War II intervened. The picture I have chosen shows a 120-piece jigsaw titled Ready for the Run. Illustrated is one of  Stanier's 'Princess Coronation' class locomotives, No.6248 City of Leeds, in the maroon and gold streamlining of the London Midland & Scottish Railway. However, the jigsaw manufacturer / brand name (Ian Allan?) and artist are unknown to me.

Surviving 'King'

In this post, 12th August 2011, I am comparing a 'King' class locomotive, as reproduced in an early British Railways' era painting and modern jigsaw puzzle, with a recent photograph of the same locomotive.

The first photograph features a wooden jigsaw puzzle of one of Charles Collett's giant 4-6-0s, No.6023 King Edward II, reproduced from a Malcolm Root painting. This 500-piece puzzle, titled Cornish Riviera 6023, was made appropriately by King International of Holland, and is still in production. The locomotive is heading the famous 'Cornish Riviera' express at the equally famous (or infamous) Dainton Bank, the third stiffest incline on the British mainland. The 2-miles long bank is situated on the GWR main line beginning at Stoneycombe in South Devon and includes Dainton Tunnel. To storm the incline the locomotive is shown at full power in Malcolm's painting, belching out exhaust of almost volcanic proportions from its copper-capped chimney. The signal box and quarry sidings are authentic. The BR blue colour for large express locomotives was trialled in 1948 and a slight variation was used from 1949. The GWR were unimpressed, however, and reverted to their own 'Brunswick Green' a short time later.

For comparison, as I don't have a  modern jigsaw equivalent in my 400-strong collection, I have used a photograph from a friend of mine, Alan Rigby, who photographed the locomotive this year following its return from restoration. Alan took the shot on the 5th June 2011 at Thuxton on the Mid Norfolk Railway where it was being 'run in'. The locomotive was purchased in 1989 by the Great Western Society from previous owners Harvey's of Bristol (makers of the famous of sherry); the cost, £16,000. She was moved from Bristol to Didcot Railway Centre, by train, for restoration and first appeared for public viewing, in steam, at Didcot on 2nd and 3rd of April 2011. The locomotive livery is almost identical in both images.

More Gresley 'A4s'

The Gresley, streamlined 'A4' class of 4-6-2 locomotives have been very popular with artists and jigsaw manufacturers over many years. Some puzzles featuring these 'streaks' have already appeared on our blog. Today's post, 5th August 2011, includes two photographs of jigsaws depicting the same ex-LNER 'A4' - No.60034 Lord Faringdon. This locomotive (formerly LNER No.4903 Peregrine), was one of  thirty five 'A4s' built at Doncaster Works between 1935 - 1938.

Pic number one shows an Ian Allan jigsaw puzzle of 200 pieces. The 'A4' locomotive is heading the 'Tees-Tyne Pullman', a luxury express that ran between Kings Cross and Newcastle-upon-Tyne from c1948. As my jigsaw is not boxed I am not sure of the exact title of the puzzle or the original artist.

The second pic shows a Good Companion jigsaw of 400 pieces. The  same locomotive, although liveried in BR blue, is heading 'The Elizabethan' express. This was a non-stop service that ran between Kings Cross and Edinburgh in celebration of the 1950's Elizabethan era. The jigsaw is simply titled The Elizabethan and the artist is T. E. North.

William Powell Frith R.A.

Today's post, 30th July 2011, is dedicated to one of the most reputable paintings of the 19th century which, unsurprisingly, was reproduced by several jigsaw puzzle manufacturers.

Victorians were attracted to railway stations, rather peculiarly finding them exciting and glamorous places. The Railway Station (Paddington) was painted by Yorkshireman, William Powell Frith R.A., in 1862, and attracted enormous interest. Many social gatherings of mixed classes are integrated into the painting with some interpretation open to the eyes and minds of the beholders. The painting includes people going on holiday, a mother sending off her two sons to school, a criminal being arrested by policemen and a bride and groom leaving for their honeymoon. It is thought that Frith included himself, his wife and his mistress in the painting. He also included the man who commissioned the painting for £4,500, Louis Victor Flatlow, but not as the engine driver, as Flatlow had wished. He is the person standing beside the locomotive.

Frith received a lot of help with the painting. For authenticity he copied photographs of the station and of an 'Iron Duke' class 4-2-2 locomotive by photographer Samuel Fry. The structural detail in the painting is thought to be have done by the architectural draughtsman, William Scott Morton. Louis Flatlow later sold on the reproduction rights to the painting for £16,000, a profitable venture.

The jigsaw (cardboard) shown in the photographs, in full and cameo form, is the Falcon 'Panorama' (102 x 35cm) puzzle of 1000 pieces, simply titled The Railway Station. Chad Valley, Optimago and Wentworth also reproduced the painting as wooden jigsaws.