The Quantock Belle

The preserved West Somerset Railway is featured in today's post, 24 February 2021. It is the longest Heritage Railway in England, at just under 23 miles long, with 11 stations en-route from Bishops Lydeard to Minehead. 'The Quantock Belle' is a special dining service operated by the railway, with diners enjoying both the cuisine and scenery, as the train meanders through the Quantock Hills. Originally part of the Great Western Railway (GWR), the line was initially laid to Brunel's superior broad gauge, but changed to the standard gauge, in 1882, ten years before the Government deadline.

The jigsaw above, is a 1000-piece example from Rothbury Publishing, part of a large series of steam train jigsaw paintings by a superb artist - Robin Pinnock. Robin's painting depicts an ex GWR prairie tank 2-6-2T, No.5572, heading 'The Quantock Belle' through some glorious countryside. No.5572 was built at Swindon Works under the direction of Chief Mechanical Engineer, Charles Collett. She was, later, fitted with auto-gear for working push-and-pull passenger trains. In Robin's picture, the locomotive is shown in GWR livery. She was withdrawn from BR service in 1962 and arrived at Barry scrapyard in South Wales, in the same year. She was rescued from the scrapyard in 1971 and re-steamed in 1985, at Didcot Railway Centre. The full title of the jigsaw is The Quantock Belle on the West Somerset Railway.