Evening Star

Considering that this locomotive is so important in the history of steam it is rather surprising at its rarity in jigsaw puzzle artwork. To the best of my knowledge I only have one puzzle* showing Evening Star within my 400 strong collection.

Today's post, 8th July 2011, is dedicated to the last steam locomotive built in the historic UK steam era, No.92220 Evening Star. The picture shows the locomotive heading an express out of Bournemouth en route to Bath. B.R. Evening Star is one of Arrow's 500-piece puzzles from the third edition of The Age of Steam series. The backdrop of orange-red sky gives the obvious impression of sunset with the aesthetic pictorialism expected of such a setting. The over emphasized star in the sky is superfluous to requirements, however; the artist is not named

Evening Star came into service in 1960. The huge 2-10-0 locomotive, the brainchild of Robert Riddles, cost £33,500 to construct at the ex GWR, Swindon Works (compare this to the £3million to build 'Tornado'). She was retired just five years later and entered preservation at the NRM, York. Special cosmetic features included copper-capped chimney and brass fittings, typical of the works where she was built.

* The locomotive is included in the children's cut out toy/jigsaw puzzle described in the 14th December 2010 post.