Old documents

[whole diary]

[stuving]

Just based on the lines in and around Aberdeenshire, it looks as if lines closed outright (like Turriff, lifted within a year for road improvements at bridges) were removed, while those closed to passengers were sometimes left in place - so their stations are still shown even if they had in fact closed.

[Reginald25]

Thanks again to everyone who responded. As far as I know it was an official BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) document as it came from a BR source. I do know that it must have been 1962 or before as I moved away then, and no longer regularly was in contact. My feeling from other constraints is that it was no later than 1961, and I would be unlikely to remember receiving it much before 1959, hence 1960 is my best assessment.
Of course in those days, errors could not be corrected at the touch of a keypad, and possibly if they were not significant, were let through. I also don't know what the target audience was, if not for posters etc, maybe less thorough proofing took place.

[SandTEngineer]

Here's one that recently came into my hands.  Wonder how much those fares would be in present day terms?

[bradshaw]

While on the topic of old documents -
Melksham Station - some history
Melksham and Trowbridge Stations were built by the WS&WR rather than the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway), to a design by Geddes and Nolloth, and were opened in 1848. Like Bradford-on-Avon they were built in Bath stone in Gothic style. Melksham had the typical tripartite structure of the WS&WR whilst Trowbridge, like Bradford, had separate entrances for 1st and 2nd class, as well as a gabled wing at right angles to the main building. The other platform shelters showed the same split with Melksham having a flat roofed, rectangular building while those of Trowbridge and Bradford  reflected the gothic style of the main building.


Melksham built by Thomas Lewis for £2,861
The accommodation changed but little over the years, the greatest changes being in the goods department. The plan(fig17.xx) shows the layout in 1877, to the south of the station was a siding to the flour mills. In 1885 a grain siding was built to serve the malthouse erected by Mr J. Taylor, this ran behind the signal box, at the same time t he down siding was lengthened and connected into the up line. BoT approval was given for a new up siding in 1893, probably and extension of the one there rather than a new one. The down siding was lengthened in 1901 to accommodate a siding for Mr J. Spencer. A major improvement was carried out in 1903 when the goods shed was improved and four mileage sidings were laid behind it. To operate these a new signal box was built to the east of the old one.
Staffing was 1861:Station master, 3 porters, 3 policemen
1881 Stationmaster, clerk, 3 porters, 1 lad porter, 1 signalman, 1 policeman

[SandTEngineer]

....and Melksham signalling layout can be seen here: https://www.s-r-s.org.uk/html/gwb/S388.htm

[bobm]

Red Star Parcels played an important role in the early history of Independent Local Radio in this country.  The first two stations opened in London in October 1973 but were quickly followed by ones in Glasgow and Birmingham just as the three day week came in.

Most of the studios where national commercials were recorded were in London.   Broadcast quality circuits were expensive to book so many if not all were despatched on reel to reel tape via Red Star.  Even in 1976 into the early 80s it was still the method of choice and one of my first jobs was to go to the local depot to pick them up on a daily basis. 

[stuving]

Red Star Parcels played an important role in the early history of Independent Local Radio in this country.  The first two stations opened in London in October 1973 but were quickly followed by ones in Glasgow and Birmingham just as the three day week came in.

Most of the studios where national commercials were recorded were in London.   Broadcast quality circuits were expensive to book so many if not all were despatched on reel to reel tape via Red Star.  Even in 1976 into the early 80s it was still the method of choice and one of my first jobs was to go to the local depot to pick them up on a daily basis. 

It's hard to comprehend now just how limited land lines were then, in both bandwidth and quality.Two parallels from the same time:

Pye developed "sound-in-syncs" for BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) TV, the forerunner of NICAM sound. This sneaked a sampled data channel for sound into a blank bit of the TV signal, avoiding the need for a separate audio line to the transmitter. Those lines were often really telephone lines, noisy and of narrow bandwidth - the samples were taken at 31 kHz, but compressed to fit in the available 10 bits. This was brand new when we had lectures on it in 1971, along with other exciting bits of TV kit - like the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)/USA standards converter, all done with switches and delay lines!

At the time the best data lines were 4800 Baud (in this context bits/s), so the fastest link within the same town was a mag-tape in a bicycle pannier.

[JontyMort]

..but the Didcot, Newbury & Southampton, all the way to Winchester, is - I think 1960 is a pretty good guess.

And shown as a main line too!

Merthyr, Tredegar, and Abergavenny not there - closed 1959. 1960 looks right.

Can anything be gleaned from the style of lion and wheel in the top right corner?

[CyclingSid]

Wonder how much those fares would be in present day terms?

Assuming 2s equals £0.1 then

£0.10 in 1927 → £6.32 in 2020

from https://www.in2013dollars.com/uk/inflation/1927?amount=0.10

[SandTEngineer]

Wonder how much those fares would be in present day terms?

Assuming 2s equals £0.1 then

£0.10 in 1927 → £6.32 in 2020

from https://www.in2013dollars.com/uk/inflation/1927?amount=0.10

Not bad then. 2s 0d in 1928 for a 3rd class Cheap Day Return, Sampford Peverell Halt to Exeter St.Davids. The nearest current equivelent fare in 2020 (Tiverton Parkway to Exeter St.Davids) for an Off Peak Day Return, is £6.30.

[bradshaw]

I tend to go by the pint of beer equivalent. In 1967 beer, in Portsmouth, was 1/8d a pint, say 9p. Now it is around £4

[RichardB]

I tend to go by the pint of beer equivalent. In 1967 beer, in Portsmouth, was 1/8d a pint, say 9p. Now it is around £4

Interestingly, 1/8 (9p) in 1967, using that Inflation calculator, is £1.64 now.  When was a pint of beer last £1.64?  It's a while ago.

2 Shillings (10p) in 1927 was equivalent to 7/- (35p) forty years later.