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If you wish to communicate with me about steam train jigsaws and/or related railway art, or to respond to requests for answers to my queries, please email David, at : platt.precology@gmail.com

Friday 30 July 2010

The 'Golden Arrow', Blast Furnaces and Snow

Three more pictures for today all duplicating jigsaws from my collection of over 370.

The first is a photograph of a 400-piece puzzle by Kolorbax from a B. A. Osborne original painting. 'Merchant Navy' class 'Pacific' No.21C1  Channel Packet is shown heading the prestigeous 'Golden Arrow' express of Pullman coaches. An aeroplane is included in the picture and lineside engineers add human interest. This artwork has also been reproduced in wood, by jigsaw manufacturer Victory.


The second pic shows a jigsaw of 400 pieces from Good Companion. Titled Blast Furnaces the jigsaw depicts an internal railway system within a large steel works. Two large tank locomotives head different freight trains with huge, 30metres tall blast furnaces in the background. Artist T. E. North offers us a glimpse of the atmosphere in an industrial steel colossus possibly in Sheffield, Corby, Teesside or South Wales (?).


A superb painting by Don Breckon, Meeting The Train, is replicated as a jigsaw in my third pic. This is a truly memorable puzzle to assemble, offering many pictorial snapshots in its very simple composition. In the jigsaw a small GWR 0-4-2T tank engine, No.1401 hauls two, small chocolate and cream liveried passenger carriages on a snow-covered single line. The train has just left a small Halt (visible in the background). On an adjacent footpath children are using a sled to transport some luggage, possibly for an elderly relative or friend struggling behind in ankle deep snow. The puzzle is one of an excellent  series of four by Waddingtons and comprises 500 pieces. The series, issued in 1989, is titled Great Western Railway and all four reproduce Don Breckon's paintings.