Railwayana

Ticket stamps

Sometimes standard printed tickets needed to be endorsed and a variety of rubber stamps would be kept for such purposes. These two examples in our collection are understood to have originated from the GWR station in Wrexham. The smaller one says CHILD, and the larger 2/3rds RATE.

Ticket clippers

Guards or Ticket Inspectors either on trains or at stations, would use one of these special ticket clippers, sometimes called nippers, to indicate that a ticket had been checked or cancelled. Such clippers varied in the cut-out they made and the different shapes might be used to identify the inspector or district. The three examples in our collection are all stamped as being made by T.Newey for B.R. (British Rail). This long established company made many types of hand tools, including those for leatherwork and carpentry, and was based in Birmingham. Whilst not being GWR items, they are of historical interest and representative of their type.

The clipper illustrated at the top punches out a number '3', whilst the middle one clips out a rectangular section at the edge of a ticket, and we have used them on a souvenir ticket to demonstrate the results. At the bottom is our latest addition which punches out a small shamrock leaf shape.

GWR pen nibs

Typical of the sort of item which would have been found in a station office, these pen nibs look to have seen little if any use. They would have been slipped onto a wooden holder and dipped into a pot of ink. The ink would have been held in the elongated hole and be slowly fed down the split in the nib towards the tip by capilliary action whilst writing. By applying varying pressure and changing the angle of the nib relative to the direction of writing, the width of the line could be changed, and some beautiful script could be produced. There is no indication who produced these nibs but it is more than likely that they were made by one of the many manufacturers operating in Birmingham. By the 1850s, Birmingham was the world centre for steel pen and steel nib manufacture and it was said that over half the steel-nib pens manufactured in the world came from Birmingham. The trade declined rapidly after WW2 and had all but disappeared by the 1960s.

Each nib is stamped with the words Great Western Railway and its size. These small items are shown here about full size, but a larger image can be viewed by clicking or tapping the thumbnail image.

GWR dip pen

The pen nibs seen above would have been held in a dip pen such as this one in our collection. It consists of a simple wood handle and a metal ferrule with the nib being pushed into the end as shown. The overall size of our example is 5 ¼" excluding the nib.

There is no makers name, but the metal ferrule is stamped GWR. An enlarged image can be viewed by clicking or tapping the thumbnail image.

GWR stoneware inkwell

If you have dip pens in the office you will need an inkwell into which to dip them. This stoneware inkwell is about 4¾" in diameter and 2¾" tall overall. The initials GWR are embossed on its side but there is no indication as to maker. Ink would have been poured into the central well and there are four holes around the top into which dip pens would have been placed when not in use.

GWR stoneware ink bottle

If you have an inkwell in the office you will need ink. This stoneware bulk ink bottle is typical of the sort in which the office supply would have been stored, stoppered with a cork. Out of view on the far side the lip has been formed into a rough spout so that ink could be decanted into desk-top inkwells. This bottle is approximately 3⅛" in diameter and 7¾" tall overall. It is embossed with GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY but bears no other markings. These items would have seen some heavy use and so it is not surprising that our example, whilst clean, has a large chip in the top.

Invoice & Circular Envelope (posted in 1897)

This small envelope, 5⅝"x3⅛" in size, was printed for the GWR by Waterlow & Sons Ltd. of London. There is a slit in the back of the envelope for the tongue to be tucked into, and the back advertises the fact that the GWR were General Carriers listing many of the localities served which include the Channel Islands, Ireland and Scotland. Our example was posted in Watlington on 22nd February 1897 and passed through the Tetsworth Post Office later that evening. The Halfpenny stamp has been perforated with the letters GWR, this marking is termed 'perfin' (PERForated INitials). For many years, postage stamps would be accepted for payment of small bills and could also be cashed at a Post Office which naturally led to the risk of stamps being stolen. Perforating stamps was seen as a way of both deterring theft and of identifying the source of a stamp. Authorisation for such marking was given on 13th March 1868.

We have included this envelope here as it demonstrates the writing which could be achieved using a pen nib similar to those illustrated above.

GWR typewriter ribbon tin

Something which would have been found in most offices of the Great Western Railway in which there was a typewriter is this tin which once contained a replacement typewriter ribbon. We are not sure whether a typewriter was ever used at Culham, but this makes for an interesting addition to our office display

Seen here approximately fullsize, the tin measures 2½" square by ⅞" high. The lid is a very tight fit in order to stop the ribbon from drying out. Very feintly on the lid the ribbon colour is given as being purple but there is no indication as to supplier, however the side of the tin states British manufacture.

GWR ashtray

Another item which would have been found in a station office, or indeed most other places would be this aluminium ashtray dating from the 1930s. It is about 5¼" in diameter. We were a bit dubious at first as to whether it was a genuine Great Western Railway item, but were reassured after we spotted an identical one when we had been fortunate enough to be invited to visit Sir William McAlpine's private museum at Fawley Hill near Henley in early 2019.

G.W.R. Memorandum pad

This pad of approximately 50 memorandum sheets is typical of the sort of item which would have been found in almost any office. The reference number on the pad suggests that it was produced in August 1937, but such pads would have been used for many years both before and after then.

G.W.R. Letter sheets

Three letter sheets, still attached together along the top edge, possibly similar to the memo pad shown above. There is no reference number on the pad but they are pre-dated '194...'.

G.W.R. Car parking charges

This pile of car parking tickets date from 1935, 1943 and 1945. From the wording we guess that they would have been placed on a car in the car park as a request to obtain the relevant parking pass rather than proof of having paid. The charges printed on the back did not change in the ten years covered by our examples.

Small envelopes

These small envelopes were printed in March 1938 according to their reference number. Designed to be sent from a station, they could well have been used to send one of the memorandum sheets from the 1930s pad seen above. The tongue is not gummed, but there is a slit in the back of the envelope for it. The space on the back of these envelopes is not wasted as they carry a promotional advert aimed at businesses urging them to locate their factory adjacent to the G.W.R. and so reduce costs.

G.W.R. Cash bag

This bag is approximately 10"x6¾" in size and is typical of the sort of item which would have been found at any station. The weekly takings would have been placed in one of these bags which would then have been put into a leather bag of the tyoe seen below ready to be sent to the District Cash Office.

G.W.R. Leather Cash bag

This leather bag is approximately 14"x9" in size and whilst its origin is unknown, it is typical of its type and would have been found at any station. The weekly takings would have been placed in one of the cloth bags seen above which in turn would be put into this leather bag. The top would be gathered together with a sturdy strap and fastened with a padlock before being sent to the District Cash Office. These leather bags sometimes had a metal plate rivetted to them with the station name engraved on it or, as with our example, an identifying label would be slipped into the leather holder. Examples of leather bags are very rare and so we are fortunate in having an example in our collection. One from Culham
Courtesy of the Great Western Trust can be seen in the museum of the Great Western Society in Didcot.

G.W.R. Clothes brush

This clothes brush is about 13⅜" long and was made by Davis Burrow and Sons of Leeds. The company was established in 1861 by Mr Davis Burrow and by 1882 the business was employing 38 men, 8 boys, and 9 girls. They made all kinds of brushes, including paint brushes, and supplied many of the railway companies of the time, eventually supplying brushes to British Rail. This clothes brush is of unknown date and origin but we think it dates from the 1920s or 30s. The GWR initials are formed by lighter coloured bristles, possibly originally white but now slightly discoloured through use. These brushes have also been seen with a small tuft of stiffer bristles on the back at the end of the brush. Possibly used in GWR hotels, it could have also found use by station staff to keep their uniform spick and span - so we have included it on this page.

Click or tap the thumbnail image to see a larger version.