This marvellous card shows a Metropolitan Line train, dwarfing the people with it. And it is quite easy to see that it is steam-driven, with the chimney and the smoke issuing forth.
Now we know that the Metropolitan Railway was the World`s first underground railway, opening in 1863, but you may not realise that this is the sort of train which was used, steam locomotives, drawing wooden carriages that were lit by gas. It sounds a recipe for disaster, fumes wise, between the asphyxiation of the gas and the steam, but that was the way then. In fact it was the only way it could be, steam was all we had, or foot power. Now the operators did know that this way of operation, underground, could be a problem, so they came up with an ingenious solution, fitting pipes that made the steam go into tanks of cold water that were retrofitted to the sides of the standard overground trains. They also changed the fuel, to coke, not coal. And they built the tunnels with sections missing, you can see them as you go along, still today, so that the smoke would not be trapped in one long tunnel, but pass through to another, and gradually lessen.
In our original reference book to the issues of W.D. & H.O. Wills, part II, this set is listed with its non-clause sister, W/24.A and also the seven extra cards. That is discussed elsewhere on this site, for it was the card of the day on the 9th of January 2024
However we will repeat the header here, to save you time.
24. LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES AND ROLLING STOCK (untitled).
It appears necessary to rename this series as catalogue compilers do not agree and existing titles are incorrect. [though it was originally recorded by Wills themselves in their own works magazines as “Locomotive Engines and Rolling Stock]
Numbered on fronts. Fronts printed in full colour without frame lines. “Wills`s Cigarettes” above subject, which is titled at base. Backs : Star and circle ornamental design, without “Ld.” after name in circle, in grey. There are two series :
B. Series of 50, no extra cards. WITH I.T.C. clause on backs Cards No`s. 24, 25, 26, 28, 29 and 30 all depict the newer type of engine. Two cards vary from the similar numbers in (A) :-
Card No. 32 – Neither the original nor corrected card was used; the illustration shows the engine only.
Card No. 34 – The card in (A) shows an engine painted reddish brown. In (B) the engine is olive green.The records of Wills show the date of issue as August, 1903. Set (A) was probably intended for export brands, but cards of both series are so invariably found mixed in old collections that it appears that both series were issued in this country.
However in our World Tobacco Issues Indexes the listing reads just “LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES AND ROLLING STOCK (A) Sm. Nd. (50) See W/24”. There is no mention of an A, a B, nor the altered cards, though it does cross reference to the original Wills partworks - which are very usefully reprinted as one hardback volume.