Stanier's Finest

Today's post, 7th December 2020, compares two paintings, duplicated as jigsaw puzzles by The Works and Marks and Spencers, respectively. Although not known as mainstream producers or sellers of jigsaws, both companies have come up trumps with the two artists chosen, Malcolm Root and Nicolas Trudgian. In my opinion, even though I was a GWR or BR Western Region (BRW) fanatic as a boy, the 'Princess Coronation' class of 4-6-2 locomotives designed by Sir William Stanier for the LMS, was my favourite class. I travelled to Shewsbury, Wolverhampton Low Level and Birmingham Snow Hill Stations in search of BR Western Region locomotives and visited the sheds of the first two, on a regular basis. But the short trip to Wigan North Western Station was where I grew to love those fast, huge and powerful locomotives known as 'semis' to us spotters, even though a true 'semi' was really a locomotive with a slightly flatter, smokebox top at the front, required to fit the air smoothed casing, previously in place.

The first jigsaw (top) featuring the Malcolm Root painting is a 1000-piece example from The Works, titled Crowning Glory although on the website of the Guild of Railway Artists it is titled Coronation Scot. The huge Stanier 'Semi', 'Coronation' class 4-6-2 No.46220, is heading the down 'Royal Scot' express in BR days, c1950, through a picturesque location somewhere on the northern, West Coast Main Line. The locomotive named Coronation looks superb in BR express passenger blue livery as she storms along with a long rake of BR carmine and cream coaches behind. The glorious weather adds extra impact to the painting which radiates the power and majesty associated with the locomotive class. No.6220 was the first of the class to be fitted with streamlined casing in blue and white. Below is an equally superb painting by Nicolas Trudgian, marketed by Marks and Spencer in the form of a 1000-piece jigsaw. The puzzle was sold with a CD titled The Glory Days of British Steam. The title of Nicolas's painting is Crimson Evening and featured is the Stanier 4-6-2 locomotive No.6233, Duchess of Sutherland. The train is pictured rounding the curve at Greenholme, on the steep gradient leading up to Shap summit, on the West Coast Main Line. The train is on its way to Glasgow from London Euston. The snow covered Pennines, near Tebay, provide a grand setting for the train - the LMS red liveried engine is matched with a long rake of LMS liveried coaches for a perfectly balanced picture. The sun, 'glinting' from the side of the train, adds more pictorial excellence.