Painting, oil on canvas, Britannia leaving Paddington, by Terence Cuneo, about 1951. Depicts British Railways steam locomotive No 70000 'Britannia' in green livery, leaving London Paddington station with an express train, with a King Class locomotive in experimental blue livery in the background. In the right foreground a railway worker walks along the tracks, beneath a signal. Above him a man looks out from a signal box at the train. The driver leans from the cab of the engine. In the background are the curving girders of Bishop's Bridge. Signed by the artist at bottom right. Framed and glazed. Original artwork for the poster Forging Ahead, The First British Railways Standard Express Locomotives.

Terence Cuneo was one of the most technically accomplished and productive railway artists. Born in 1907 to artist parents, he showed a fascination with depicting railways from an early age.

His first work for the railway was a 1942 painting of a water mill in Essex, used in a poster advertising trains to East Anglia. After that Cuneo produced many poster designs. He also painted railways for his own interest and for private commissions.

This oil painting, Forging Ahead shows Britannia, one of the new Standard class steam locomotives introduced in the early 1950s by the recently nationalised British Railways.

Britannia is leaving Paddington station, with an older, King class locomotive in the background. Cuneo never lost his fascination with railways, painting steam locomotives in particular at every opportunity. His work is widely imitated by railway artists today.