This artwork is one of the top 20 UK railway artworks voted for by the public as part of Railway 200.
A renowned master of railway art, Norman Wilkinson transformed the genre through an unfussy style and his widescreen compositions. Commissioned during the interwar period by the UK's major rail companies to devise promotional material, Wilkinson – whose passion veered more for maritime subjects – avoided the technical exactitude of other celebrated painters of trains, notably Terence Cuneo.
Instead, this painter tended to portray his subjects from a distance, thereby ensuring he devoted as much canvas as possible to the views passengers enjoyed from their carriages. In this example, Wilkinson has picked such a panorama to promote the Coronation Scot as it speeds through Shap Fell, Cumbria, a landmark on the west coast mainline that connects London with Scotland.
Norman Wilkinson (1878–1971) 
Not only was Wilkinson asked to celebrate this particular route, but also a ground-breaking service introduced by the London Midland & Scottish Railway. This was during a period when individual companies competed for customers – in this case, the LMS was up against the London North Eastern Railway's east coast mainline, which provided the most direct route from south-east England to Edinburgh.
As well as a longer distance, the west coast line faced the challenges of steep gradients, which many steam locomotives struggled to surmount, including the infamous run up and over Shap Fell, a controversial decision when the line was originally opened in the nineteenth century. Yet despite such obstacles, the west coast had seen the first continuous line between England and Scotland, thanks to the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway, which opened in 1846, providing a link between southern-based companies and the emerging network north of the border.
Francis Abel William Taylor Armstrong (1849–1920) 
This railway had also chosen to travel via the village of Shap, thereby including one of the most strenuous climbs faced by trains in the UK. Rail pioneer George Stephenson himself had been among those to survey a direct route via this village along the Lune valley, though he was concerned about the ability of steam trains to take on such gradients. Instead, he preferred a roundabout course that followed the Cumbrian coast, after crossing Morecombe Bay via a long barrage.
His rival Joseph Locke originally suggested a shorter route to the east of the Lake District that included a tunnel at Shap, ensuring the line's sharpest gradient would be 1 in 100 (1ft rising or falling for every 100 travelled). As consultations and negotiations progressed, this became the basis of what became the final route north from Lancaster, with Locke only at the last minute deciding to remove the tunnel and cross the top of Shap Summit, which remains the west coast mainline's second highest point and, at 916ft (279m), its highest in England (Even higher is Beattock Summit at 1016ft (310m) across the border in Scotland.)
To surmount such obstacles, many steam trains needed assistance from bank engines to pass these sections, spare locomotives that were temporarily added to provide extra power on long, steep gradients, while causing extra delays as they needed to be coupled then removed from ongoing trains. South of Shap, the ascent is tougher travelling northwards, with a climb of 5.5 miles (8.9km) beginning at Tebay, where the bank engines were sited to take account of its 1 in 75 gradient.
Locomotives that worked these lines, especially London to Glasgow express services, rarely needed such support. They were thoroughbreds of their respective fleets, such as this powerful LMS 4-6-0, portrayed in 1934 carrying both its coaches and those of LNER as it passes open countryside near Skipton on the midlands line from St Pancras.
R. B. Hugill (active 1934–1974) 
In 1937, though, the LMS introduced an upgraded express service on the west coast line, the Coronation Scot, so named as its opening coincided with the crowning of King George VI. It stopped only at Carlisle to help achieve its aim of completing its run in 6 ½ hours. The service was short-lived, however, lasting only until the outbreak of the Second World War two years later.
It was run using specially designed steam locomotives, the streamlined Coronation class, among the most powerful in use on British railways, designed by influential engineer William Stanier.
As the text on the poster version explains, the Coronation Scot ran in each direction once every weekday – though given differing work habits at that time, the blurb adds 'except Saturdays'. The train itself, meanwhile, consisted of 'nine air-conditioned coaches, internally panelled in decorative woods'.
Its key selling point, though, was its speed, which relied partly on Stanier's cutting-edge sleek design. Wilkinson positions his composition so as to grant a view of its smooth frontage (which is, in fact, formed from a steel casing tightly hugging the actual engine), while also taking in its blue livery with silver lines, colours more similar to the historic Caledonian Railway than the LMS's usual crimson.
Norman Wilkinson (1878–1971)
As the poster went on to explain, the Coronation class was designed 'to maintain high average speeds in all weathers', especially on those difficult ascents, adding 'Coronation Scot attained a test run with the train in 1937 a maximum speed of 114mph... a British railway record'.
That record was achieved near Crewe before the service opened and the particular engine named Coronation held this accolade until July 1938, when it was beaten by the LNER's famous Mallard, the locomotive that broke the world speed record for steam that still stands today.
Nowadays, of course, inclines are rarely an issue on British railways thanks to the efficiency of modern diesel and electric units, while most preserved railways follow gentler routes.
Yet steam aficionados still remain keen to witness the dramatic sight of classic steam locomotives working flat out to take on such iconic gradients, something they can enjoy thanks to the occasional steam charter trains allowed on mainlines outside regular timetables. And, of course, one of the favoured routes for such excursions is the Settle to Carlisle Railway, one of England's most picturesque lines thanks to iconic locations such as the Ribblehead Viaduct, though steam buffs will also be anticipating the run up Shap Fell.
This image that Wilkinson has preserved in oils can still be viewed in real life today.
Chris Mugan, writer
This content was funded by Railway 200
About Railway 200
Railway 200 is a cross-industry, UK Government-backed, partner-led celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of the modern railway, commemorating the opening by George Stephenson of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in the North East of England in 1825, a journey that changed the world forever. It explores the past, present and future of rail, and how it has shaped our lives and livelihoods. Numerous activities and events are planned throughout 2025, many of which are listed at www.railway200.co.uk
