Today's post, 16th July 2014, is dedicated to the steam trains and canals genre from my 450+ strong thematic collection of UK steam train jigsaw puzzles.
By the 1820s around 2,200 miles of canal had been built in the UK. The opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825 and the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1830 proved to be decisive moments in the change from canal transportation to that of the railways. In terms of transport time, it was generally accepted that canals could compete with railways at the speed of a horse drawn barge. But railways could and did travel much faster. From the above dates the superiority of railways was accepted unanimously.
A steam train on a main line beside or crossing a picturesque canal in a tranquil British countryside setting - what artist could ignore such a scenario? Not many it seems. Nostalgia and serenity emanate from the three jigsaw pictures I have chosen to illustrate this particular transport combination.
The first picure features a jigsaw of 1000 pieces by Ravensburger titled Canalside Memories. In Trevor Mitchell's artwork, Chirk Aqueduct, built by Thomas Telford in 1801 to carry the Ellesmere Canal across the Ceiriog Valley, is featured running parallel with a higher railway viaduct. A large, cargo narrow-boat dragged by a working horse is pictured traversing the aqueduct and pedestrians are included on the adjacent footpath for effect. A ‘Castle’ class 4-6-0 locomotive is pictured hauling a passenger train across the railway viaduct. The narrow boat Gifford included in the picture is preserved at the Ellesmere Port Boat Museum, but can be spotted occasionally on the UK canal network. She was built in 1926 as a tank boat for Thomas Clayton (Oldbury) Ltd., and used to carry bulk liquids such as creosote, crude oil and tar on Midlands' Canals. She was restored in 1971.
Classic DeLuxe also issued jigsaws in this category in 2008, duplicating paintings (2002) by Kevin Parrish. My second picture shows one of these puzzles, a 500-piece example, titled Canal Crossing. Depicted are a small motorboat or narrowboat moored on a canal bank with a small boy in charge. He is waving at the driver of a small GWR locomotive (a 'Manor' class 4-6-0?) as it crosses a bridge above the canal, heading a rake of GWR chocolate and cream passenger coaches.
The third photograph features the second 500-piece jigsaw from Classic Deluxe titled Canal Cruise. This is another from Kevin’s portfolio of 2002. This and the previous puzzle capture the empathy between canal narrow boats and steam locomotion perfectly. In this puzzle a blue and black liveried narrow-boat, Water Lily, with at least three people on board, is travelling serenely along a tree-lined canal at sunrise (or sunset) having just passed beneath a brick, arched bridge. On the bridge, a British Railways (BR) 'Standard' 2-6-2T tank locomotive of George Ivatt is shown heading maroon coaches.