Artist John Austin

John Austin is one of my favourite railway artists and two of his pictures, reproduced as jigsaw puzzles, form the basis of today's post, 24th April 2011. He is an Honorary President of The Guild of Railway Artists (GRA) and, to date, has won the GRA's Picture of the Year Award no less than seventeen times; the award in 2010, was his thirteenth in succession. One of John's great strengths is to paint atmospheric pictures of steam icons battling against atrocious weather conditions, particularly on the south west coast, where sea and railway are hardly separated at the best of times. Another of his strengths is to paint scenes involving several steam trains, a subject that demands a deep understanding of spatial awareness and perspective. The two jigsaws I have chosen, reproducing John's work, reflect this latter theme.

My first picture is of the Gibsons' 1000-piece puzzle titled Imminent Departure. This shows two trains at Highley Station on the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) with a third in the background. The two main locomotives are preserved on the SVR. On the left is a class 2, 2-6-0 of George Ivatt, No.46443, heading a short freight train; alongside is BR 'Standard' class 4, 4-6-0, No.75069 of Robert Riddles, heading 'blood and custard' passenger stock.  The third loco in the background is difficult to identify, but may be an 0-6-0 tank type.

Another fine example of a jigsaw showing several steam trains is Cambrian Coast Express, a puzzle of 500 or 750 pieces from Waddingtons. In the picture, a 'King' class 4-6-0 hauls this famous express, and a 'Castle' class 4-6-0 heads another train in the opposite direction on an adjacent line. A 'Grange' class 4-6-0 is also shown heading a freight train while a small pannier tank is shunting in the background. The locomotives are part of BR's Western Region. The Paddington to Aberystwyth 'Cambrian Coast Express' operated on the Great Western Railway from 1927, although its origin was in a 1921 service. A 'King' or 'Castle' class loco hauled the train as far as Wolverhampton or  Shrewsbury where a smaller 'Dukedog' 4-4-0, or 'Manor' (later) 4-6-0, took over. The lines west of Shrewsbury, along the Cambrian Coast, could not support heavier locomotives.

Another jigsaw featuring a John Austin painting is Brockhouse Station; this puzzle was described in the 3rd October 2010 post.

Pendennis Castle

Today, 14th April 2011, I am using two photographs of steam railway jigsaws, from my collection, that are among my favourites. There are two reasons for my choice (i) even though I have always lived in St Helens, my favoured trainspotting region was that on which the Great Western Railway (GWR) operated and (ii) the artwork involved in both is as good as it gets. The famous 'Castle' class 4-6-0, No.4079 Pendennis Castle, is the subject of both puzzles. In each puzzle she is depicted in a totally different style and location, but with impact to spare.

The main claim to fame for No.4079 was that she was loaned to the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) in 1925 for trials agains the latest Gresley 'Pacifics'. The 4-6-0 'Castle' outperfomed the larger 4-6-2 'Pacifics' and covered herself in glory. The GWR then sent No.4079 to stand alongside Gresley's Flying Scotsman at the 1925 British Empire Exhibition (ran 1924-1925) and proclaimed it to be "the most powerful express locomotive in Britain". She avoided the cutter's torch when she was privately purchased from British Railways in 1964; In 1977 she was exported to Western Australia to run on the railway of the Hammersley Iron Company. She arrived back in Britain after being purchased by the Great Western Society and was placed at the Didcot Centre in 2000.


No.4079 Pendennis Castle has been painted in dramatic style by Bary A. F. Clarke and reproduced by Wentworth as a wooden puzzle available in a number of sizes and simply titled Pendennis Castle. The first pic shows the 500-piece puzzle. The locomotive is painted at either sunrise or sunset against an electric blue and orange sky which is partly obscured by copious clouds of black exhaust.

The second pic shows the Falcon 300-piece puzzle, from the Steamtrains series, titled Castle Class - GWR with original artwork by Rob Johnson  The locomotive pictured in 3/4 elevation is No. 4079 Pendennis Castle heading chocolate and cream (GWR) passenger carriages, exiting the single track, Prince Albert Bridge. The panache of this class of 4-6-0 standard bearers is forever associated with the steam railway era. The bridge was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and spanned the River Tamar, thus linking the counties of Devon and Cornwall; it was opened by Prince Albert in 1859. Brunel's name is  engraved for posterity on a bridge portal.

More Montages

For today, 5th March 2011, I am using two pics of jigsaws featuring montage type illustrations.  Locomotives great and small in BR and pre-BR liveries are shown within a cocktail of railway paraphernalia - signs, signals, station names, engineers, staff, drawings, infrastructure, locomotive headboards, rolling stock etc. I have used two simple montage jigsaws, each comprising four photographs, in a previous 11th January post, but these two are more impressive in my opinion

The first pic shows a 1000-piece puzzle from House of Puzzles titled All Change. The artwork is by Peter Annable. Like some other artists featured on this blog Peter is a member of the Guild of Railway Artists (GRA)**.

Tony Hunt RI is responsible for the original montage style artwork, reproduced by Citadel for the jigsaw The Age of Steam Trains. The puzzle is of 1000 pieces.

If of interest, Tony's representation of The Kings and Queens of England has also been marketed by Citadel, as a 1000piece montage style jigsaw puzzle.   

**The GRA website is a must for lovers of railway art, a huge collection of fantastic pictures in varying styles and mediums by over fifty artists; go to www.railart.co.uk and be amazed.  

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Record Breakers

Coronation and Mallard are two British steam locomotives synonymous with power and speed. The first, a creation of Sir William Stanier of the London Midland Scottish Railway, achieved 114 mph in 1937, a British record. The 'A4' class locomotive designed by Sir Nigel Gresley of the London and North Eastern Railway, achieved 125mph in 1938, a world record for steam locomotion. This figure was acknowledged by Gresley himself although others published an unsubstantiated 126 mph. Today's post, 28th March 2011, comprises two pics showing jigsaws from Falcon's 300-piece Steamtrains series of four puzzles. They all reproduce  the superb artwork of Rob Johnson. A third pic features an information sheet.

The first pic features the jigsaw titled  Princess Coronation Class - LMS.  The 'Coronation Scot', Euston - Glasgow express, was named to coincide with the year of the Coronation of King George VI. It was headed, initially, by Stanier 'Coronation' class 4-6-2, No.6220 Coronation, and a record speed of 114mph was achieved on the inaugural run on 29th June 1937. The location was just south of Crewe on the West Coast Main Line. The 'Coronation' class of locomotives was specially designed for the service. Until 1939 the locomotives and coaches were blue with silver bands but afterwards changed to LMS red with gold bands. The train did not appear after World War II, consigned to history.

Pic number 2 shows the jigsaw titled The Mallard - LNER. Mallard's world record run was achieved on 3rd July 1938 on Stoke Bank, just south of Grantham, on the East Coast Main Line. In the jigsaw the famous 'Streak', No.4468, is hurtling past a local policeman who has stopped cycling to enjoy the experience. It is a picture of contrasts, but also one that epitomises the appeal of steam locomotion.



The third pic shows the information sheet which accompanied each jigsaw in the 300-piece Steamtrains series.

If you wish to view all the photographs published on this blog, either individually or as a slide show, follow the instructions to the right hand side of the blog under the heading 'Picasa Slide Show'. Each photograph is captioned with title, number of pieces and manufacturer.

Puffing Billy, Jupiter and North Star

I am returning to the early days of steam locomotion for today's post, 21st March 2011. Two jigsaws in my collection are a perfect fit for this subject.

My first pic shows a 200-piece jigsaw marketed by William Ellis & Co Ltd under the 'Welcom' brand. Titled Discovery of Steam Locomotion the puzzle features the oldest surviving steam locomotive in the world, Puffing Billy. The engine is on display at the Science Museum, London. Built in 1813 by the famous engineer William Hedley, the steam engine was used to haul coal trucks from a mine at Wylam to the docks at Lemington-on-Tyne in Northumberland. It is known to be the first, commercial adhesion, steam locomotive to have operated on smooth rails. The brightly coloured, illustrative style artwork for the puzzle is not signed, unfortunately, but shows the locomotive in a rural setting, possibly en route to the docks.

My second pic shows a superb hand cut, wooden jigsaw by the renowned specialist Sara White. Titled Travelling on the Liverpool & Manchester Railway - 1831, the 430-piece puzzle dates from 1999. The original work was by Isaac Shaw and aquatinted by S. G. Hughes but Sara's jigsaw is from a Raphael Tuck commercial print that replicated the coloured aquatint. The jigsaw features two trains - a first class train with an additional mail coach attached to the rear, and a second and third class example, with open carriages. The first class train is headed by the locomotive Jupiter, built by Robert Stephenson's engineering company in 1831. Jupiter was a locomotive of the 'Planet' class of 2-2-0 locomotives and is incorrectly portrayed with four equal wheels. The second train headed by the locomotive North Star, of 0-2-2 configuration, was built by the same engineers a year earlier, complete with water barrel tender. 

 

Thankfully, manual techniques for manufacturing wooden jigsaw puzzles are still carried out by a number of traditionalists who will hand cut you an elaborate puzzle of excellent quality. However, when one considers that a hand cut jigsaw of 1000 pieces, for example, involving high degrees of skill, patience and creativity will normally take over a normal working day to produce, it doesn't require mathematical genius to work out the expense involved.

Major London Stations

Today's post, 14th March 2011, is dedicated entirely to two mainline terminus stations in London. Jigsaws depicting stations as a backdrop to a steam locomotive or train are common, but those showing the station as the main focal point, with trains relegated to the background, are exactly the opposite. The two pictures of jigsaw puzzles I have chosen today, show stations and passengers that more or less fill the picture frame.

The first pic features the Gibsons' 1000-piece puzzle titled Going North; Coming South. 'Going North' and 'Coming South' are a pair of paintings by George Earl, originally commissioned by Sir Andrew Barclay Walker, owner of a Liverpool brewery. Victorians had a rather curious affinity for railway stations. The pair of paintings, completed in 1895 and rescued from a Liverpool public house in 1990, show many cameos of Victorian railway station life towards the end of the 19th Century. 'Going North' depicts well-dressed passengers, including Earl himself and members of the Walker family, waiting at Kings Cross Station, Scotland bound. 'The Glorious Twelfth' immediately springs to mind. In 'Coming South' the opposite journey is depicted, passengers waiting at Perth Station for a Kings Cross train, returning to London with their 'prizes'. In both paintings thirty-four sporting dogs of eight different breeds are portrayed, a favourite subject of Earl. The Gibsons' jigsaw cleverly combines both paintings to great effect.

My second shot shows St Pancras Station in the form of a 1000-piece jigsaw made by Ravensburger for the National Railway Museum, York. The title is Going North? St Pancras and it is reproduced from a 1910 Midland Railway Poster by Fred Taylor. This majestic station was completed for the Midland Railway in 1868. It was close to the Great Northern Railway's Kings Cross Station and was built because of massive delays in approaching Euston Station, previously used for London-bound passengers. A new line from Bedford was built for the opening of St Pancras. Because Taylor's artwork was commissioned for a poster, the fine detail shown in Earl's paintings was not required; also, because the scene is of a panoramic nature, it has slightly less impact.

Old Workhorses

I know that 'Old Workhorses' is a worn out cliche but there is nothing better to describe the two jigsaw puzzles I have chosen for today's post, 9th March 2011. Farming, especially ploughing or the harvesting of crops,are popular subjects for foregrounds in pictures of steam railway scenes. Many artists have used this pairing of steam train and farming to add pictorial impact to their work and jigsaw manufacturers have not been slow to reproduce it.

The first pic shows a 1000-piece jigsaw from Waddingtons titled, appropriately, Old Workhorses. The puzzle compares older means of both travel and farming and is reproduced from a Malcolm Root original painting. This jigsaw is not as easy to assemble as others described in previous posts. Many pieces replicate colour and texture, particularly those that make up the ploughed field, making it a time consuming exercise to complete. Sold by Woolworths before the company's demise in December 2008, the puzzle features a T.W.Worsdell Class 'F4', 2-4-2T tank, No. 67211, heading two small suburban coaches along a raised embankment. The scene is set in early British Railways days. In the foreground a farmer ploughs his field using four magnificent shire horses to pull the plough.

Another fine example in this category, reproduced from a Trevor Mitchell canvas, is the JR Puzzles 500-piece example titled Homeward Bound, part of the Days Gone By series. A Gresley 'C9' class 4-4-2 locomotive, No.2171 of the London and North Eastern Railway, (LNER) is shown heading a rake of Gresley teak coaches. On an adjacent road an old Burrell steam traction engine with two men on board and two trailers in tow, plods along, heading away from a day on the farm.

The summer scenes above, produced by both artists, radiate tranquillity, all that is best in the UK countryside.

NOTE: JR Puzzles are now owned and distributed by James Hamilton Grovely Puzzles Ltd.,  -  for details, the email address is info@jhgpuzzles.co.uk and the website is jhgpuzzles.co.uk

Freight/Goods Trains

They were called goods trains in my day but most people call them freight trains today. Whatever you call them, today's post, 4th March 2011, features photographs of jigsaw puzzles showing such trains. For some reason that I don't understand, freight trains are not widely covered by jigsaw manufacturers, passenger examples outnumbering them by a huge margin. I have chosen two pictures from my collection to illustrate the post title.

Pic number one shows a 500-piece puzzle from Moat House Products. In the pic one of Charles Collett's 4-6-0 workhorses, No.5904 Kelham Hall, coupled to a large eight-wheeled tender, is heading freight vans under a bridge on Rattery Bank. The 'Hall' class of mixed traffic locomotives came into service on the Great Western Railway in 1924 and over 250, including modified versions, were built.  David M. West produced the original artwork for the jigsaw, which is one of a series of six.

The second pic shows a 500-piece wooden puzzle from Wentworth. Barry Freeman's original painting of The Haymarket Wanderer has reproduced superbly as a jigsaw. The puzzle is available in several different sizes from Wentworth and depicts a Arthur H. Peppercorn 'A1' class 'Pacific', No.60160 North British, in BR blue livery, heading a long goods train of mixed wagons and vans. The setting is Welwyn North Station, a rather odd place to see a locomotive from Haymarket shed in Edinburgh; hence the title of the painting.

Two more from Wentworth

Since the Wentworth company began manufacturing their famous wooden puzzles in 1994, steam train examples have been prominent. Over seventy titles have been produced, although many are no longer available. Of the two I have chosen to include in today's post, 25th February 2011, only the first is currently in production. More Wentworth puzzles have been included in previous posts - just type Wentworth in the search bar above.

 My first pic shows the 250-piece puzzle Clouds and Crosswinds which is reproduced from a Malcolm Root original painting. One of William Stanier's magnificent 'Princess Coronation' class 4-6-2s, No.46238 City of Carlisle, is depicted hard at work on the northern West Coast Main Line (WCML) approaching the summit at Shap. Set in the late 1950's/early 1960's, Malcolm's picture highlights the bleak terrain, threatening skies and strong crosswinds.

The second pic features a famous express of the London Midland Scottish Railway, the 'Royal Scot'. One of Henry Fowler's 4-6-0 creations, later modified by William Stanier, is shown heading the famous express on the northern WCML, close to the location used by Malcolm Root for Clouds and Crosswinds. The 250-piece jigsaw replicates a Gerald Broom original painting, although it is not one of Wentworth's best reproductions. The title is LMS Royal Scot, Tebay Troughs and the pioneer locomotive of the class, No.6100 Royal Scot, is shown picking up water from the famous troughs. Large amounts of spray, characteristic of this type of operation, are used to advantage in the painting. The picture also features an early farming scene, including a horse and lots of manual  labour, typical of early LMS days.

Wentworth jigsaw puzzles are available in many different sizes.

The Beginning, with JR

My passion for collecting jigsaw puzzles depicting steam trains began in the mid 1990's, roughly thirty years after my train spotting days ended. I came across a range of eight, 500-piece jigsaw puzzles in the Wilkinson's store in my home town, St Helens. They were in two series titled Nostalgia and Age of Steam, respectively,  and each series comprised four puzzles. They were made by a company called JR Puzzles and I felt compelled to collect them all, rediscovering my youth at the same time. The artist for all eight jigsaws was Edgar Hodges, his excellent illustrative paintings being ideal for reproduction as jigsaws. He was well known for signing his paintings with his surname only. Within a short time I had completed all eight puzzles plus a couple of others sold by the same store. I became obsessed with adding more and the collection started to expand.

In today's post (20th February 2011) I am including pictures of two of those original puzzles, both from the Nostalgia series. The first is Cornish Riviera Limited showing a giant 'King' class 4-6-0 locomotive, No.6019 King Henry V, at the head of this famous Paddington - Penzance express of the Great Western Railway. Another smaller 4-6-0 locomotive is travelling light engine on an adjacent line - possibly a 'Manor' class example. As usual, in Edgar Hodges' railway artwork, track maintenance men add human interest to the picture.

The second shot depicts British Railways 'Standard' class 4-6-2 locomotive, No.70004 William Shakespeare, heading the famous Southern Railway, 'Golden Arrow' service from London's Victoria Station to Dover. Track maintenance men are, once again, a feature. The 'Golden Arrow', all first class Pullman car service, began in 1929 (ordinary first and third class coaches were added in the early 1930's) but was terminated at the outbreak of World War II in 1939. It recommenced in 1946. Passengers were treated to a first class English Channel crossing from Dover to Calais on a specially refurbished ferry, Canterbury, owned by the  Southern Railway. At Calais passengers boarded an equally prestigious French train, the 'Fleche d'Or', for the journey to Paris. This French luxury Pullman service had started in 1926. 'Lord Nelson' and 'King Arthur' class locomotives were used on the 'Golden Arrow' initially, followed by Bullied 'Pacifics'; 'Britannia' class locomotives were also used until the steam-hauled service ended in 1961, when an electrified service took over.