Tuesday 26 August 2014

The Flying Scotsman by Kevin Walsh

 
This official card came in my inbox yesterday, traveling from Finland. It's a reproduction of one of Kevin Walsh paintings: Watching the Flying Scotsman. The original artwork is larger and contains extra: a postman with a car who collects the mail in the right and a tractor on the left hill.
Kevin Walsh is British artist and his works have been reproduced on many greeting cards, jigsaw puzzles or collectors plates.
The Flying Scotsman may reffer at two things:
1. Is an express passenger train service that has been running between London (England) and Edinburgh (Scotland) since 1862.
2. Is the famous steam locomotive (No. 4472 Flying Scotsman) built in 1923 for the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER).
Some notable things about this locomotive: 
- first steam locomotive to achieve a fully authenticated speed of 100 mph (160km/h)
- between 1988-1989 it toured Australia, where at one point it recorded the longest ever non-stop run by a steam locomotive, travelling 679 km
- capacity: 8 tons of coal and 22.730 liters of water
- total mileage: over 4.000.000 km
You could read more on the dedicated website.
About the stamp. It looks awesome with its irregular shape and is one of the two thematic stamps designed by the graphic artist Klaus Welpin. Stamps were issued in 2014 to celebrate the legendary Finnjet cruise ferry, which operated between Helsinki and Travemünde (1977-2008). 

Thank You, Päivi !

Country: Finland (but British artist)
Description: Watching the Flying Scotsman
Photo: Kevin Walsh © 2012 / Karto

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