A steam train and telegraph wires beneath a sunburst

This atmospheric view appears to make a symbolic, optimistic salute to the advancing technology of the mid 19th Century. The advent of the steam train and telegraph communications had revolutionised life in Victorian Britain in a short space of time. The burst of sunshine over the train and telegraph lines as they cut through the landscape produces a dynamic and exciting effect. Paton was no doubt aware of J.M.W. Turner, R.A.'s Rain, Steam, Speed exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1844, which also commented on the changing face of the landscape and society over a decade earlier.