The Expected Politeness of Railway Officials - 1848 (N.B. To be read with an innocent mind)

I went off to The National Archives last week to photograph some early railway rule books. While I haven't finished reviewing them, this rule from the 1848 Great Western Railway rule book particularly interested me. Just a warning - you should really read it with an innocent mind ;)

The Cross-Border Archive Project

I was recently sent a link to The Cross-Border Archive Project by Rachel Moore, who I met that the Archives, Artefacts, Amateurs and Academics conference some weeks back. Starting in early 2007 and ending in June 2008, the project was a joint venture by the Newry & Mourne Museum and Louth County Archives Service to make available on-line documents regarding the history of Newry and Mourne in Northern Ireland and Louth in Ireland. Of particular interest to Rachel and I was the section covering documents from the Great Northern Railway, which crossed the border between the two regions.

The site contains sections on the history of the railway, its social impact, the company's works at Dundalk, the company's relationship with its employees and the trade it engaged in; all of which are accompanied by a fascinating array of images and documents. Naturally, my favourite image was that of the 'Great Northern Brewery private Siding'. However, I was also interested by a document providing details of the GNR's clerical exam from 1917. It stated that 'attention should be paid to grammar, spelling, punctuation and handwriting' of candidates when they submitted essays on one of the following four subjects: '(1) The necessity of tilling more land in Ireland', '(2) Modern inventions used in War', '(3) The game of football - its uses and abuses', and '(4) An honest man is the noblest work of God.'

Ultimately, there are many interesting things to look at and learn about on the site and I really recommend a look.

Waiting Room Weekly Round-Up

Well, I sent my draft thesis off to my supervisor this week. It was weird to see 95,000 words printed out as one document - very large!

So here's the round-up:

Monday: "When greyhound or other large dogs are booked by a train..."
Tuesday: Cannon Street Station in 1866
Wednesday: "Cursing" a Magistrate by a Clergyman [at a station]
Thursday: The Duties of Gate-keepers - 1848
Friday: The Stock Exchange Nicknames of British Railway Companies - 1898

And don't forget my main Turnip Rail post - A Misinformed but Devious Take-over of a Railway

Lastly, if you haven't already, please take a look at my post from a couple of weeks ago on an important project that I am involved it. - All comments welcome! - Archives, Artefacts, Amateurs and Academics - A Conference Report

The Stock Exchange Nicknames of British Railway Companies - 1898

In my researches yesterday, I came across a list of the stock exchange nicknames of Britain's largest railway companies in 1898. What I found interesting is that some of the names just use a word, or part of a word, from the company's title. However, other names relate to the region the companies served, for example the North Staffordshire Railway was referred to as 'pots', presumably because of the large pottery industry there. I'm now just curious about how these names came about. The whole list was as follows:-

Caledonian                                          Claras
Cambrians                                          Cambs
Glasgow and South Western                Ayrshires
Great Central                                      Centrals
Great Eastern                                     Easterns
Great Northern                                    Yorks
Great North of Scotland                       Haddocks
Great Western                                    Westerns
Hull and Barnsley                                Hulls
London and North Western                  Brums
London and South Western                 Souths
London, Brighton and South Coast       Berthas
London, Chatham and Dover                Little Chats
Midland                                              Middies
North British                                       British
North Eastern                                     Berwick
South Eastern                                    Doras
Lancashire and Yorkshire                    Leeds
North Staffordshire                             Pots
Taff Vale                                            Taffs


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[1] The National Archives, ZPER 46/1, The Railway Yearbook for 1898

The Duties of Gate-keepers - 1848

I write this from inside The National Archives. Gosh, I love it here. Anyway, I have decided to take a day to work here on some things that simply interest me. As many of you are aware, I have a fervent interest in rule books. Currently in front on me is the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway's 1848 'Regulations to be observed by the company's servants employed in the Executive Department.' I could have chosen a vast number of instructions to quote, but I chose those pertaining to gate-keepers, as  they were pretty concise and summed up the job well.

96. Each gateman will be provided with Day and Night Signals, which he must keep in proper order, and always in readiness for use.
97. The gates to be always kept shut across the road, except when required to be opened to allow the Railway to be crossed.
98. Whenever the Railway is required to be crossed, the Gateman shall, before opening the Gate, satisfy himself that the Train is not in sight, he shall then show his Stop Signal, and in all cases allow it to remain until the Railway is properly clear; he must then close the Gates and alter the Signal.

"Cursing" a Magistrate by a Clergyman [at a station]

Occasionally, I just search nineteenth century newspapers on-line to see what interesting stories come out. Indeed, when I came across this one from 1852 I just had to reproduce it.

'A most extraordinary, novel, and exciting scene was witnessed at the Flordon Station on Saturday evening. When the five o'clock train from Norwich arrived there, the passengers were much surprised at seeing the Rev. Mr Moore, the curate of the parish, standing in the passage of the station-house, dressed in his canonicals. It was, however, soon understood that he was waiting there to "curse" a neighbouring magistrate, who was expected by the train; and who had given him some presumed offence. When the individual alluded to was giving up his ticket to the station porter, the rev. gentleman thus addressed him:- "I inflict a curse upon this man. I curse you; I curse your wife; I curse your children; I curse all you have - may your children be fatherless and vagabonds and beg their bread," &c.; and thus he went until the "cursed man" drove off. We understand that the matter has been laid before the Bishop; and that the rev. gentleman, in default of finding sureties to keep the peace, was committed to the Castle, by Edward Howes esq.'[1]

On first reading, I considered it didn't actually have much to do with the railways, and had more to do with one man's gripe against another. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realised that it actually said something about how Victorian society was transformed by the railways' arrival. Twenty years before this event the clergyman wouldn't have known precisely what time the magistrate would be due to arrive in town, and probably would have had to wait until it was confirmed he had arrived to conduct his bazaar act. Yet, with the invention of the railways, the timetable showed precisely the time the magistrate was due to arrive, and the clergyman would only have to turn up to meet the train. Therefore, in some respects the railways regimented Victorian society, making the clock the master.

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[1] Caledonian Mercury, Thursday, April 1, 1852

Cannon Street Station in 1866

On the 1 September 1866 the South Eastern Railway opened its Cannon Street Station. This image, from the Illustrated London News a week later, shows the two turrets at its entrance that were designed by John Hawkshaw and which the Daily News described as having a 'very imposing appearance'.[1] It occupied a site that had previously been steel yards and the wharfs of the Victoria Dock Company.[2]

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[1] Daily News, Monday, 3 September, 1866
[2] The Pall Mall Gazette, Saturday, 1 September, 1866