'Full Steam Ahead' for House of Puzzles

Today's post, 12 November 2023, describes a 1000piece jigsaw from House of Puzzles (HoP), based in Invergordon. For regular viewers of the blog you are probably aware of my admiration for the superbly designed jigsaws from this Scottish company.

HoP's huge output of puzzles is split into 40 "collections" and many include a steam train or two. Today's puzzle is titled Full Steam Ahead and the artist Robert Barry has produced a highly colouful, suburban scene with main attractions - three children, a woman, a dog and 'The Flying Scotsman' train, headed by No.4472 Flying Scotsman. A small town and a farm fill the background and a large tree, a small double signal gantry, various wild flowers, several birds and a man on horseback complete a busy composition. 'The Flying Scotsman' train and engine of the same name, have been described in the previous post of 28 June 2011 - look it up in the blog archive above. At present, the HoP 40 'collections' are split into 15 groups of 1000-piece puzzles, 3 groups of 500-piece puzzles, 13 groups of 500, large-piece puzzles and 9 groups of 250, large-piece puzzles. Examples of "collection" group' titles include Appleton, Castleford and Saltburn in the 1000 piece puzzles; Lynvale and Avon in the 500-piece puzzles; Cranley, Roseisle and Pencraig in the 500-large piece puzzles and Aspen, Laurel and Rowan in the 250-large piece puzzles. For bird lovers, the examples are song thrush, tree sparrow, chaffinch, wood pigeons, pheasants, bullfinches, goldfinch and a small white goose (?). A holly blue (?) butterfly is also included. For information, the jigsaw Full Steam Ahead is part of the Appleton Collection.

An odd locomotive

In this post, 20 December 2022, I am featuring a 500-piece jigsaw from Groveley showing a member of a unique sub-class of 10 locomotives - No.92020. Unfortunately the printing of the jigsaw picture is slightly out of focus but my copy may, hopefully, be a lone example.

The ten, class 9F, 2-10-0 tender locomotives, numbered 92020 - 92029, were built at Crewe Works by British Railways in 1955. The engines were designed to perform more efficiently than the other 241 class 9F's, all built between 1954 and 1960. The difference was that the special ten were fitted with Franco-Crosti boilers forming what really, became a sub-class of 9F's. The hoped for benefits did not materialise however, and the engines became hated by engine crew, especially in crosswinds. No.92028 was withdrawn from service in 1966, and by November 1967, all of the Franco-Crosti boiler engines had been scrapped; only normal class 9F's survived into preservation. The artist is Kevin Parrish and more of his work, including paintings in monochrome, can be seen on the website of the Guild of Railway Artists (GRA). May I take this opportunity to thank all bloggers who have supported this site, and wish you all, a very happy Christmas and a joyous, healthy and prosperous 2023.

Kevin Walsh x 2 again

A couple of posts ago I featured two jigsaws showing similar Kevin Walsh paintings which, at first glance, appeared to be the same. On further inspection it was clear that there were differences/alterations between the two. In this post, 27 November 2022, I am showing two more jigsaws below, promoting Walsh artwork, from two companies - Kidicraft again, and Ravensburger. Close viewing will show pictorial differences, but please ignore differences in colour saturation. The first (top) is a 500-piece example from Ravensburger titled Green Steam Engine,. (See the post of 30 August 2013). The second (bottom) is a more recent offering from Kidicraft in the Kevin Walsh Nostalgia series of 1000-piece jigsaws. This one is titled Passing By and there are more differences between this and Green Steam Engine than in the previous, 27 November pair. The train and the car are the same in both jigsaws; A Gresley 'V2' class locomotive No.4791 liveried in London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) apple green, and a deep blue Austin(?) vintage car. The children appear the same.

GWR King class in close-up

Todays post, 21 November 2022, describes a 600-piece jigsaw from Sovereign publications showing a locomotive from the most powerful class of 4-6-0 locomotives designed in the UK. The Great Western Railway Chief Mechanical Engineer Charles Collett designed the class of 30 locos which ran from 1927 until withdrawal in 1962. Three are preserved; No's 6000, 6023 and 6024.

The doyen of the class is No.6000 King George V shown in the Bill Sharman photograph in splendid close-up. The title of the jigsaw is G.W.R 'King' Class 4-6-0 No.6000 King George V. Shortly after the locomotive was built it was sent to the USA in 1927 to join the celebrations for the Centenary of The Baltimore and Ohio Railway. Commemorating the visit, the Americans attached a plaque and bell to No.6000, the latter to the front buffer beam, clearly seen in the photograph.The Welsh Marches is a Heritage, 'upmarket passenger' train owned by 'Saphos Trains'. For information on Saphos Trains go to saphostrains.com

Kidicraft and Kevin Walsh

For this post, 10 November 2022, I am featuring a 1000-piece jigsaw from a Kidicraft series, showcasing the work of Kevin Walsh. The series is titled Nostalgia and I am using the puzzle titled Canal Transport (top, below). The keen jigsaw enthusiasts and those who regularly support my blog will notice that the picture by Kevin has been used before.... or has it? In the May 29th post of 2011, a similar jigsaw is shown as a 500-piece puzzle by Gibsons. The latter puzzle, The Beginning, was sold with another puzzle, as a Cadbury's promotional pair; the combined title was Beginning to End. Return to the post of 2011 for a detailed explanation. Both Kidicraft and Gibsons examples are shown below for comparison. Most of you will notice differences between the two puzzles. Spot the changes in Kevin's compositions but ignore differences in colour saturation.The Kidicraft company is based in Earby, which appears to be in both Lancashire and Yorkshire.

Leisure Days from Ravensburger

A series of 1000-piece puzzles from Ravensburger is titled Leisure Days and today's puzzle, 20 September 2022, features No.6 in the series - Days Out. The artwork, of no surprise to pictorial jigsaw collectors, is by Kevin Walsh.

In the picture, passengers are waiting on a station platform or boarding a steam train; at the head of the train is a huge 'King' class 4-6-0 locomotive, designed by Chief Mechanical Engineer Charles Collett for the Great Western Railway (GWR), No.6007 King Edward VII. The class graced GWR lines from 1937 until 1962; three are preserved. This is a typical Kevin Walsh painting with a huge amount of detail everwhere you look. For example, the engine driver is talking to his guard at the same time that a mother, holding a child, is observing the engine in close-up. In the station forecourt a red MG sports car, with a young couple on board, is the main focus beside a man resting on his motorcycle and sidecar. Other interest is provided by a half-cab single decked bus, positioned in the background, partly loaded with passengers. I'll leave the dog, milk churns, a second car with gran' and granddaughter (?) unloading/loading the boot, station building, footbridge and young trainspotter etc,. to your interpretation and imagination. Days Out is a large puzzle, full of interest and colour, but easy to assemble.

Another from Ponda

Today's post, 8 September 2022, features a 100-piece plywood puzzle from Ponda. Depicted is an example of my favourite express locomotive class - the 'Princess Coronation' class, of William. A. Stanier. The latter was the Chief Mechanical Engineer for the London Midland and Scottish Railway, known as the L.M.S.

Ponda, based in St Leonards-on-Sea in the 1950’s, issued many wooden puzzles, including some previously named as Ian Allan puzzles. The titles of many wooden puzzles depicting steam railway scenes made around the mid-20th Century, were extremely verbose, including the example above titled British Railways: The Royal Scot, Hauled by 46254 "City of Stoke-on- Trent", taking water at Brock Troughs. London Midland Region. The illustrative artwork is by Robert Barnard Way, one of the best of the era, in this style. The locomotive, in 3/4 elevation, is liveried in BR (British Railways) passenger blue; carriages are liveried in BR crimson lake and cream, nicknamed 'blood and custard'. Water troughs allow locomotives travelling at a pre-determined speed, to take on water without stopping. Brock water troughs were positioned north of Preston, on the West Coast Main Line.

Bluebell Railway revisited

Today's post, 31 August 2022, (seems ages ago that I last posted) features a 500-piece jigsaw from House of Puzzles titled All Aboard.

The Bluebell Railway was the first, standard gauge preserved heritage line in Britain; passenger services began in August 1960.The jigsaw photograph shows the 'Dukedog' class 4-4-0 locomotive No.9017, Earl of Berkeley, at Sheffield Park Station. The loco, superbly turned out, is heading a train, recently loaded with passengers, for a trip on the line. Many passengers and visitors are included in the station scene. The locomotive is an amalgam of two earlier types - the frames of 'Bulldog' class No.3425 (built 1906) and the boiler and cab of 'Duke' class No.3282 (built 1895). The locomotive amalgam carried the number 3017 when assembled at Swindon Works in 1938, but in the 1946 renumbering system, both 'Dukes' and 'Dukedogs' were reclassified together, as class '90xx'. No.3017 became No.9017 and last ran in 2011. She is currently on static display, awaiting overhaul. For previous posts describing the Bluebell Railway, just enter Bluebell into the search bar above.

The Ritz

The jigsaw chosen for today, 31st March, is an example where the majority of the steam train is present in close up, but the locomotive cannot be seen.

The Ritz, Please, is a ‘Wide Horizon’ puzzle of 500 large, wooden pieces, from Dutch manufacturer King. It offers a different perspective on the blog title concentrating on passengers and their onward plans. Depicted are two elderly passengers waiting to board an Austin FX3 taxi, having recently arrived at London’s Liverpool Street Station. The FX3 taxi was introduced in 1948, coinciding with the beginning of British Railways. The taxi in the picture looks quite new, helping to date the depicted scene. The taxi driver assists the passengers with their luggage and a rake of LNER (London & North Eastern Railway) teak coaches, of Nigel Gresley, provides a superb backdrop. The artist is Malcolm Root who titles the painting Liverpool Street Taxi in his book 'Malcolm Root’s Transport Paintings'.

Another Montage

This post, 18th May 2022, describes a jigsaw showing another montage style picture, similar to the one in the previous post. The manufacturer is House of Puzzles of Invergordon; the montage is based on the alphabet, with twenty-six individual scenes depicting activities on the railway, mainly in the steam era; one scene per letter.

The twenty-six scenes show artwork featuring infrastructure, railway personnel, train types etc including - Arrival, Express, Driver, Flying Scotsman, Guards van, Horse box, Inspector, Level crossing, Milk train, Newspaper train, Porter, Restaurant car, Signal box, Tunnel, Viaduct, Water tower etc., etc. A separate central picture shows two children sat on a fence watching a passing express train. The artwork is by Beryl and Graham Peters and the 500-piece puzzle is part of the Roseisle Collection.