Monthly Archives: December 2012

Like father, like daughter: a railway family remembers

Posted on December 31, 2012 by

Throughout the Station Stories project, a recurring theme has been people telling me that they worked on the railways because their parents, grandparents, and sometimes even great grandparents did before them. Here’s one such story about a father and daughter … Continue reading →

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A Christmas jigsaw for clumsy railway staff

Posted on December 21, 2012 by

As a last minute Christmas card, this object from the Museum’s small objects collection is pretty useful. The jigsaw was given by the Great Western Railway around 1935 as a Christmas present to employees, as a way of reminding them to … Continue reading →

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Boiled AND roasted? Rediscovering an 1870s turkey dinner

Posted on December 19, 2012 by

Here’s a letter from the Hackworth archive – our collection of papers from the family of Timothy Hackworth, railway engineer and early railway pioneer. The letter, sent to Hackworth’s granddaughter Jane Young by an unknown sender, describes the strange way the … Continue reading →

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A sneak peek at the Station Hall workshop

Posted on December 14, 2012 by

Although it might feel like the Station Hall redevelopment has been quiet of late, there has been a lot of work going on behind the scenes. The exhibits are now being produced, and this week we visited our propmakers’ workshop … Continue reading →

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Picture of the week: Liverpool 1881

Posted on December 13, 2012 by

We’re continuing to celebrate the launch of our new railway photos section. We added 500 new photos last week, so we’re up to over 4000 Creative Commons-licensed images from our collection that you can browse at leisure. It’s my turn to pick a Picture … Continue reading →

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Malt by Export Express: Christmas Drinks Assured!

Posted on December 12, 2012 by

This article from the 1959 British Railways Eastern Region staff magazine describes how the (then) largest fully mechanised malting plant in Europe used private sidings and British Railways ”Export Express delivery” to transport malt around the world for Christmas. The Export Express … Continue reading →

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The dog who was a signalman, and other canine Station Stories

Posted on December 10, 2012 by

It’s not just humans who’ve got stories to tell. I’ve also gathered lots of station stories about man’s best friend. I’ve heard about lovable pups who were good travelling companions, and naughty scamps who’ve terrorised train drivers. Here’s a few … Continue reading →

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Picture of the week: Diesel locomotive, 1957

Posted on December 6, 2012 by

To celebrate the launch of our new railway photos section with over 3500 Creative Commons-licensed images from our collection, our staff are choosing some one of their favourite photos for this blog. Here’s Peter Thorpe, Search Engine Visitor Assistant: This is a Brush Type 2 … Continue reading →

Posted in Picture of the week, Rail vehicle collections | 4 Comments

Christmas shopping humour from 1935

Posted on December 5, 2012 by

Only 20 shopping days until Christmas, so here’s a cartoon from the December 1935 issue of the Great Western Railway (GWR) staff magazine. The GWR and other railway companies operated a door-to-door transport service, which people could use to transport … Continue reading →

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