The Constable on the Great Western Railway

Cartoon, ink pen (stylic art), "The Constable on the Great Western Railway who was run over by the train whilst taking his tea", by C.A.S., a satirical comment on the railways, depicting a railway policeman responsible for signalling being run over by a train as it emerges from a tunnel, about 1838 - 1843.

This is one of a series of cartoons satirising the early railways. This image depicts a man being run over by a locomotive. It highlights the dangers of the railway, and how people were not always as cautious as they should have been around this new technology. The illustration is attributed to ‘C.A.S’. It is possible that C.A.S refers to Charles Alexander Saunders who worked for the Great Western Railway until 1863. The artist and the date of creation remain unknown.