Gibsons are a major player in the steam railway jigsaw market and I have chosen two examples from my collection showing steam trains in totally different locations.
A football match is an interesting and unusual component in the Gibsons’
636-piece ‘Panoramic’ jigsaw titled Final Whistle. Malcolm Root’s
artwork features an early 1950’s railway, sharing the composition with a
small football stadium where a match is in progress. In the foreground an
0-6-0 tender locomotive trundles by, heading a short freight train with the
driver and fireman, no doubt, watching the game. The engine is an ex LNER
‘J15’ class, No.65465, originally one of J. Holden’s ‘Y14’ class built in
1912, for the GER (Great Eastern Railway). The details of the stadium, fact
or fiction, are unknown to me.
The second picture features another puzzle from the same Gibsons' series,
titled Sunshine and Steam. The artwork is by Philip Hawkins. An ex
GWR 'King' class 4-6-0 No.6023 King Edward II heads the famous
'Cornish Riviera Express' through Dawlish, on the return to Paddington. The
location is the promenade with Kennaway Tunnel as the backdrop.
Holidaymakers are enjoying the view from several vantage points in the
jigsaw picture. The era is British Railways, probably late 1950's. The giant 4-6-0 locomotive
is one of three, from an original class of 30, in preservation. Do you remember the huge storm that destroyed a nearby section of line in
2014?
