An Unusual 'Glow in the Dark' Puzzle

The puzzle pictured in today's post, 18th December 2011, is very unusual (and rare) for two reasons - it features a UK steam railway scene from an American jigsaw manufacturer and it glows in the dark.

The first photograph shows the jigsaw in daylight. It is a picture of a Stanier class '8F' locomotive, 48445, hauling a freight train through a station at dusk or dawn. The period is probably between 1948 and 1956 when the British Railways logo was the 'cycling lion', clearly shown on the tender. The station lights mixed with ambient, residual light result in a memorable picture by British artist Peter Bradshaw. The jigsaw is a 1000-piece example by Empire of Massachusetts.


The second photograph shows the jigsaw in a blackened room after illuminating it for a minimum of twenty minutes with a bright light. Obviously the puzzle attracts more interest at night because of the eeriness that it projects but it is a very interesting puzzle when viewed normally. Station staff and passengers add human interest to a typical railway scene.

Two from Gibsons

Within the theme 'trains in stations' there were many jigsaws to choose from in my collection of over 400 steam railway puzzles and some have already been seen on the blog. Here, 12th December 2011, are photos showing two more.

The world's first underground railway, The Metroploitan Railway, was opened in Januray 1863 and connected Faringdon with Paddington. It was an instant success and carried an average of 26,000 passengers each day in its first six months of operation. The first pic is of a 500-piece puzzle from the Gibson's Heritage Collection featuring artwork by Barry Freeman.  The title is Memories of Metroland. 'E' class 0-4-4 tank engine, No.1, is shown at Quainton Road Station, awaiting the 'right to go',  in the early 1950's. It survived in service until 1963 and is now preserved. Also pictured in the station is a Beyer Peacock 4-4-0 tank engine No.23 and a member of the station staff holding a newspaper while chatting to the engine driver.


The second picture shows a 1000-piece jigsaw from Gibsons titled Summer Outing from a Malcolm Root original canvas. Featured is an open top bus of the 1920's (?) travelling past Witham Station with a full load of passengers. Two Essex towns, Chelmsford and Witham are displayed on the front destination board. Only Malcolm Root knows exactly what is going on in the scene but many people are depicted, some at the side of the road overlooking railings covered with advertisements for Cadburys products. They may be watching a train headed by a superb 4-4-0 'Claud Hamilton' class locomotive of the Great Eastern Railway (GER) exiting the station. Or they may be watching a second locomotive waiting in the nearest platform to the railings. Human interest is increased by the inclusion of a small boy eating a bar of chocolate. Is the summer outing by bus or train or does it include journeys by both? The jigsaw was used by Cadburys as a promotional example.

Two more from Falcon

Today's post, 4th December 2011, features pictures of two, 200-piece jigsaws from the famous Falcon company. They were part of a series of four puzzles titled Steamtrains, each comprising medium sized pieces.

The first picture shows a Great Western Railway (GWR) 'County' class 4-6-0 locomotive designed by Frederick Hawksworth, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the GWR and British Railways (BR) Western Region, from 1941 -1949. The locomotive is No.1000, County of Middlesex, and the artwork is by Paul Gribble. The title of the jigsaw is County of Middlesex (GWR) leaving Temple Meads. The latter station, one of Isambard Kingdom Brunel's famous legacies, is in Bristol.

The second picture shows one of Sir William Stanier's powerful 'Princess Coronation' class of 4-6-2 locomotives. He was the CME of the London, Midland & Scottish Railway from 1932 until 1944 having previously gained experience at the Swindon Works of the GWR. The locomotive pictured is No. 46223 Princess Alice and the title of the jigsaw is Princess Alice - BR Midland Region. The artist is David Weston. This locomotive is also featured in a jigsaw pictured in the post of  22nd May 2011, but in its original streamlined form of 1937.

'Steam Trains and Jigsaw Puzzles' Book

Today's post, 28th November 2011, is dedicated to the book bearing the same name as the blog. I have several copies of the book, first published in 2007, on offer . The two photographs below show two of eight photographic pages, designed in a montage style, illustrating thirty-five puzzles in total. They are fully complemented with over 30,000 words divided into several sections. Included in the latter are "A Summary of Jigsaw Puzzle History", "Thematic Collecting", "Railway Artists", "Classification" and "Famous Locomotives and Headboards". The book is based on jigsaws depicting British steam railways only.

The book is primarily aimed at collectors of steam railway jigsaw puzzles, serious or otherwise. It is also aimed at those people without any passionate affinity for railways, who just like to reminisce about times spent on steam-hauled trains and assemble the odd jigsaw puzzle or two. Even enthusiasts of general pictorial jigsaws may find the book interesting. After all, railways and glorious lanscapes were inseparable in the steam age and there are many jigsaw examples reflecting this combination to consider. Railway officianados and collectors of railway art may also be attracted to the book as I believe there is much common ground between everyone with an interest in steam railways, whatever their focus.

If of interest please send enquiries to the email address at the top of the blog. The cost will be £15.49 inclusive of postage/packing; payment can be by cheque or postal order or via my PayPal account.

Spot the Difference

For today, 22nd November 2011, I am using two photographs of similar jigsaw puzzles and invite you to differentiate between them before reading the text.

One drawback to steam railway jigsaw collecting is that several manufacturers reproduce the same artwork. For instance John Austin's Imminent Departure has been made by Gibsons (1000pcs), Waddingtons (1000pcs) and W. H. Smith (1000pcs).  There are many other examples I could describe. In some cases a manufacturer  produced a jigsaw puzzle in different formats or within different series titles. For example Gibsons produced some puzzles as part of the 500 or 1000-piece Heritage series, as part of the wide-format 636 piece panoramic series and as a standard 1000-piece puzzle. Two Weeks in a Welsh Town was one of them. In these cirumstances a collector has to make important decisions normally based on cost. Do you purchase just one jigsaw by a single manufacturer, buy a copy of the same puzzle from each manufacturer or complete the set of copies of the same puzzle offered in different formats / series  by each manufacturer. You pay your money and make your choice, as they say.

If money is no object another alternative is possible; to collect every single steam train jigsaw made by each manufacturer. In the case of Wentworth, for example, because this company makes each jigsaw in several sizes, this may be unrealistic. In my inventory nearly eighty puzzles showing steam trains are attributed to Wentworth. When one considers that each one is made in several different sizes a collection of over 400 puzzles would be accumulated from this company alone. As I said - unrealistic, unless you are an eccentric millionaire.













The two puzzles shown are both wooden examples from Philmar and they illustrate the dilemma facing serious collectors. The first is a 50-piece puzzle and the second is a 60-piece equivalent. The title of both is Scarborough Flyer and the artwork is by T. E. North.

Two More Chidren's Jigsaws

Its quite a while since I described jigsaws made for children but the two pics in today's post, 15th November 2011, certainly fit that description. They are both of 64 large pieces made by Philmar. In a collection of steam railway jigsaw puzzles, such as my own, these children's examples must be included as the locomotives ilustrated/photographed are full scale and original.


The first photograph shows two London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) locomotives standing side by side. On the left is No.4771, Green Arrow. This locomotive is from the famous 'V2' class designed by Sir Nigel Gresley. It is of 2-6-2 ('Prairie') wheel configuration and emerged as the pioneer of the class in 1936. By 1944 the class comprised one hundred and eighty four  locomotives. The second locomotive in the jigsaw is the 'B1' class 4-6-0, No.1306 Mayflower. Edward Thompson designed the class but this locomotive was only delivered after nationalisation, in 1948, in British Railways (BR) days. It was numbered by BR as 61306 and withdrawn from service in 1967. Sold into preservation at Steamtown, Carnforth it was given the name Mayflower,originally used  on the scrapped 'B1' locomotive, 61379. It was re-numbered 1306 and liveried in LNER 'Apple Green'. The title of the jigsaw is Green Arrow and  Mayflower.

The second picture features two more locomotives, a Great Western Railway (GWR) 4-6-0 'Castle' class example, and another 4-6-0, a 'Black Five', of the London Midland Scottish Railway (LMS). No.4079, Pendennis Castle, of the GWR has already been described in detail in the post of 14th April 2011. The second locomotive in the picture is one of Sir William Stanier's workhorses introduced from 1934. By 1951 eight hundred and eighty six locomotives had been built. Eighteen 'Black Fives', including the one in the jigsaw picture, No.44932, have survived into preservation. No. 44932 was built in 1945 and returned to mainline duties in 2010. The title of this jigsaw is Pendennis Castle and Black Five.

Three GWR Locomotives

The title says it all. In this post, 5th November 2011, I am using two photographs of steam train jigsaw puzzles showing different Great Western Railway locomotives.











The first pic shows a 'County' class 4-6-0 locomotive No.1024 County of Pembroke heading chocolate and cream passenger coaches near Dawlish, on the scenic south west coast. The artwork by George Heiron has been faithfully reproduced by Falcon in this 300-piece jigsaw titled County Class GWR. The 'County' class of locomotives was built between 1945-1947, and totalled 30 examples. The same artwork, as a 500-piece jigsaw, was used by Arrow for the 1978 The Age of Steam series

Picture number two shows a pair of locomotives, side by side, in a puzzle titled GWR Saint and 57xx, part of the 1980 Arrow, The Age of Steam series. The artist is not named. The main line locomotive heading a passenger train under a bridge is 'Saint' class 4-6-0, No.2953 Titley Court. Stationary, on an adjacent line is 5700 class Pannier tank, No.3763. The latter class of tank engines numbered 836 when completed in 1952 (started 1913). The 'Saint' class of locomotives, including prototypes, conversions and rebuilds, eventually numbered 100; they were built between 1902 - 1913.

A Pair of Falcons

Following on from the previous Waddingtons post, today 28th October 2011, I have chosen two pictures featuring jigsaw puzzles from another of the UK's well known manufacturers, Falcon. Established from his home in 1976 by Harry Jondorf, Falcon proceeded to be a major force in British jigsaw puzzles manufacture; company factory and headquarters were established at Hatfield in 1977.  When Jondorf retired in 1996 the company was aquired by a Dutch manufacturer from Amsterdam but jigsaw production has continued under the Falcon and Falcon/Jumbo names.

My first photo shows a 2005 jigsaw puzzle featuring the artwork of Robert Nixon. She is heading a rake of GWR chocolate and cream passenger coaches and several passengers and station staff are included in the picture. The 'City' class of ten, 4-4-0 locomotives was designed by George Jackson Churchward in 1903. A year later while heading the 'Ocean Mails' train from Plymouth to Paddington, City of Truro attained a speed of 102 mph, the first time that a speed of 100mph had been recorded. Only one timekeeper was present, however, and two were required for authentification. As a result the record was never officially ratified; try telling that to a true 'dyed in the wool' GWR enthusiast though, and see what reaction you get.

The second pic is from the 1990's, Falcon Venture series and is titled At the Station. An early London Midland Scottish Railway (LMS) 'Royal Scot' class 4-6-0 locomotive, No. 6138 Fury, designed by Henry Fowler is pictured at a main line station with a small boy looking on. The station may be the one at Bushey as a strong resemblance can be seen in a painting in the book Railway Colour Album of 1932. The name Fury has been carried by three locomotives - an 1831 example built for the Liverpool & Manchester Railway, the locomotive in the jigsaw picture and the third, an LMS experimental high pressure locomotive No.6399. No.6138 was built in 1927, named Fury in 1928 but renamed a year later as London Irish Rifleman. Two station staff, a railway maintenance man and old enamel advertisements are also included by artist Gerald Broom. The puzzle comprises 500 pieces.

Two from Waddingtons

Today's post, 21st October 2011, features probably the most famous British manufacturer of jigsaw puzzles, Waddingtons. Many Waddingtons' puzzles depicted steam railways and two of them are shown in the following photographs.

The original company was founded in the 19th century by John Waddington and Wilson Barratt and renamed John Waddington Ltd., in 1905. The original printing business was successfully supplemented from 1922 with the introduction of playing cards. Jigsaw puzzles, using American cutting technology, were added to the company's expanding portfolio in the early 1930's. From the company headquarters in Leeds, Waddingtons produced circular puzzles from the 1930's and jigsaw puzzle books in the 1940's. Geographic jig-maps, made from the 1960's, were also very popular. The Christmas limited edition jigsaw puzzle range, revered by collectors, began in 1994, the same year that the company was purchased by Hasbro Inc., of America. The original name lived on, however, with Woolworths as a major supplier of 500 and 1000-piece puzzles. Woolworths survived until 2008 leaving the future of the Waddingtons name in doubt.

The first photograph shows the 350-piece puzzle titled An Audience with King Edward II. A man and his children are depicted overlooking a wall behind which the now preserved 'King' class 4-6-0 locomotive, No.6023 King Edward II, thunders by heading a rake of Great Western Railway (GWR) chocolate and cream passenger coaches. The Sydney Gardens form a majestic backdrop to this action on the Paddington - Bristol line. The only surviving Georgian gardens in Bath, they are now a public park. Built in 1840 the line is hidden in a cutting but trains can be viewed from vantage points clearly shown in Barry Freeman's superb artwork.

The second picture shows a magnificent Adams Radial Tank, 4-4-2 locomotive No. 488, designed by the Locomotive Superintendent of the London & South Western Railway (L&SWR), William Adams. The '415' class emerged from 1882 and eventually totalled 71 locomotives. They were called Radial Tanks as the trailing wheels were carried in a radial truck. The title of the 1000-piece jigsaw is, appropriately, Adams Radial Tank but the photographer is not named. The locomotive is preserved on the Bluebell Railway.

King George VI

Two jigsaw pics comprise today's post, 11th October 2011, both featuring locomotives named King George Vl (reigned 11th December  1936 -  6th February 1952).

The first shot shows a 72-piece, wooden jigsaw from Ponda (ex Ian Allan). 'Princess Coronation' class (8P) 4-6-2, 46244 King George VI, is depicted heading London Midland Scottish Railway (LMS) maroon carriages in a rural setting, presumably  on the West Coast Main Line. The artist is not named. This locomotive emerged with full streamlining in July 1940, the brainchild of the LMS Chief Mechanical Engineer, (Sir) William A. Stanier. The streamlined casing was removed in 1947; the locomotive  was withdrawn from service in 1964.

Charles Collett was the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Great Western Railway (GWR) from 1922 to 1941. His giant 'King' class 4-6-0 locomotives were built between 1927-1928. Picture number two shows the Victory 100-piece, wooden  jigsaw titled King George VI. The locomotive of the same name appeared on GWR 'metals' in April 1928 and was withdrawn from service in December 1962;  she  is shown heading GWR chocolate and cream carriages in a rural setting with two lineside maintenance men to the fore. The artist was George Heiron.