'Fined 20s., and 22s. costs, for fraudulently travelling'

In my work I am always finding cases where people failed in their attempts to avoid paying for their travel. After all, it is only when they got caught that cases were recorded. This is from the London and South Western Railway's staff magazine, The South Western Gazette, from July 1901 (p.11):

'At the Westminster Police Court, in the 9th ultimo, E.G. Richmond, of 94 High Street, Tooting, was fined 20s., and 22s. costs, for fraudulently travelling, and 20s. and 2s. costs for giving a false name and address, or in default for one month's imprisonment. On the 6th of April defendant arrived at Vauxhall by train and attempted to pass the barrier by saying he had given his ticket up on the platform. He afterwards admitted travelling from Clapham Junction without a ticket, gave a false name and address, and eventually said he had travelled from Wimbeldon. It was ascertained he lived at 61, Effra Road, Wimbeldon. To avoid police court proceedings he left that address, but was traced to Tooting.'

I'd love to know how they traced him there...

A [Very] Short History of Shorthand on the Victorian Railway

Before the 1890s the most extra training railway clerks could undertake, above what was required for their posts, was in shorthand. On the Manchester Sheffield and & Lincolnshire Railway in 1854 the General Manager, Sir Edward Watkin, employed the brother of Isaac Pitman (the inventor of shorthand) to run classes for a small number of clerks.[1] Thereafter, its teaching was gradually adopted by other railways companies and became a standard skill for the vast majority of railways' clerical staff by the turn of the century. Indeed, in 1910 shorthand was mandatory skill for all new junior clerks on the London and North Western Railway.[3]  Yet, even at the end of the century some companies remained behind the times. As late as 1891 the London and South Western Railway's staff magazine, The South Western Gazette, was still imploring juniors to attend classes.[4] Indeed, to my knowledge the company never made it mandatory. 

I wrote a longer history of shorthand on the railway (that may need updating with new information) on my main Turnip Rail Blog in October 2010 here.

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[1] Hodgkins, David, The Second Railway King: The Life and Times of Sir Edward Watkin, (Landybie, 2002)
[2]Pitman, Isaac, The Phonographic Railway Phrase Book:  An adaptation of Phonography to the Requirements of Railway Business and Correspondence, (London, 1889), p.1
[3] Pratt, Edwin A., A History of Inland Communication and Transportation in England, (London,1912), p.42
[4] South Western Gazette, Nov 1891, p.3

The First Pages of Railway Company Staff Magazines

I thought I'd just share some of the first pages of railway company staff magazines before World War One. The first shown is the original railway company staff magazine, the London and South Western Railway's South Western Gazette from June 1881. This is followed by The Great Western Railway Magazine and Temperance Union Recorder from November 1888. After this is The Great Central Railway Journal, from July 1905, and lastly is The Great Eastern Railway Magazine, published in January 1911. Unfortunately, I don't have an image of the final railway company staff magazine established before 1914, The London and North Western Railway Gazette, which began in 1912 (I think)

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