The Ab608 Passchendaele steam train passing under Palmerston Bridge, Otago in October 2015 on its centennial tour of the South Island, New Zealand Painting

The Ab608 Passchendaele steam train passing under Palmerston Bridge, Otago in October 2015 on its centennial tour of the South Island. Note: A beautiful brass plaque has been attached to the back of the painting with the title, medium, year completed and my name and website - see image below The History of the Ab608 World War I Memorial Locomotive Passchendaele (1915). In 1925, New Zealand Railways wished to exhibit AB608 at the South Seas Exhibition in Dunedin, alongside the historic Double Fairlie engine built in 1872. It was felt AB 608 should have a name if to be displayed alongside “Josephine” – the Minister of Railways, Gordon Coates agreed that the engine could be named in memoriam for the more than 5000 railwaymen that served in World War One. After rejecting the names “Somme”, “Le Quesnoy” and “Ypres”, “Passchendaele” was selected. Two plaques bearing the name “Passchendaele” were cast and affixed to the sides of the locomotive. NZ Railways had not named locomotives since the 1870s, and AB 608 was the largest, and last, locomotive to be given a name by them. This steam train was built to celebrate and honour the railway workers of New Zealand who went off to Europe, fought and died in World War I. This painting celebrates them and their train on its 100th Anniversary tour. Hopefully the viewer will join in that celebration and appreciate and be grateful for that ultimate sacrifice given freely to achieve that lofty goal of freedom from tyranny and protection of ones country Acrylic paint as my medium was chosen, because I needed quick drying times between painting details and layers. For steam train stylistic references, I viewed both Turner and Monet's paintings, before deciding on a more detailed representation.