Hot Off The Press – New Titles This Week

This week we are marking 200 years since the birth of the modern railway, with the addition of three brand new railway titles to our holdings. That’s not all, we’ve added 362,596 brand new pages to our collection, with extensive updates to one of the south coast’s most famous titles, the Portsmouth Evening News.

Through our new railway titles this week, we’ll take a look at another important moment in railway history, the opening of the North British Railway in June 1846, which connected Edinburgh with Berwick-upon-Tweed.

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The Railway Press

The first of our new railway titles this week is the Railway Press, which was founded in London in 1888. Dubbed as ‘A Weekly Journal of Transport, Engineering, Railway, and Financial News,’ the Railway Press was much more than simply a publication about the railway industry.

Railway Press | 7 September 1888

Indeed, as fellow railway publication the Railway News reported on 30 June 1888, the Railway Press was published by the Railway Press Company. The Railway News labelled the Railway Press as a ‘circular,’ explaining how ‘it purports to be an appeal issued ‘on behalf of hundreds of railway servants killed annually on duty,’ and is said to be supported by Lord Colville and a number of other persons more or less connected with the railway interest.’

But how was the Railway Press going to support those workers who lost their lives on the railways? The Railway News explains:

The modest proposal is that the public should subscribe 18s. per annum to a newspaper published by the company, and in return for this a free life assurance of £25 to £50 at death from any kind of accident while on duty is ‘to be given to the families of railway servants, 456 of whom were killed in the year 1887.‘

Railway Press | 16 August 1889

Published every Friday, at the cost of 4d., the Railway Press filled some 28 pages with a range of articles on matters relating to the railway. Within its pages, you can find reports on railways around the world, with pieces like ‘Brazilian Railways’ and ‘American Passenger Car Construction.’ You can also find thought pieces like ‘Comfort in Railway Travelling’ and ‘The Railways of the Future,’ alongside more niche reports like ‘Fine Art in Railway Carriages.’

The Railway Servants’ Chariot and Companion

The next of our new railway titles is the Railway Servants’ Chariot and Companion. This wonderfully named publication was a ‘monthly record of Christian life and work on the railways.’ Published as the organ of the Railway Servants’ Mission, which was established to spread the Christian Gospel amongst those who worked on the railways and in associated industries, the Railway Servants’ Chariot and Companion was published in Liverpool.

Edited by engine driver C.M. Irlam, who also authored the Railway Servants’ Tracts, the Railway Servants’ Chariot and Companion cost just one halfpenny and filled four pages. With the watch words of ‘Christianity’ and ‘temperance,’ this publication also covered ‘Christian and temperance life and work among our railway servants and their families at home and abroad.’

Railway Servants’ Chariot and Companion | 1 January 1881

The Railway Servants’ Chariot and Companion printed news from the Railway Servants’ Mission from across the country, from Darlington to Brighton, from the West Country to Durham. It published updates from Railway Prayer Meetings, as well as reports on meetings held by the Railway Servants’ Religious Association.

The Railway Servants’ Mission exists today as the Railway Mission, which now primarily works to provide mental health support to those working in railway related industries.

The Scottish Railway Gazette

The third and final of our new railway titles this week hails from Edinburgh and it is the Scottish Railway Gazette, or to give it its full name, the Scottish Railway Gazette, and Journal of Banking, Insurance, Mining, Steam Navigation, Canals, &c. The Scottish Railway Gazette was first published on 5 April 1845, appearing every Saturday from that point, at the cost of 4 1/2d.

Scottish Railway Gazette | 18 July 1846

Conducted upon ‘principles of perfect impartiality,’ and free ‘from all party connections whatever,’ the Scottish Railway Gazette boasted ‘a first class and most extensive circulation, not only in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and other parts of Scotland, but throughout Great Britain, and is regularly filed at all the Stock Exchanges, and by the principal Sharebrokers throughout the United Kingdom.’

So, what could you expect to find within the sixteen pages of the Scottish Railway Gazette? A large proportion of the paper was given over to ‘original articles on the schemes of the day, explaining and analysing their merits.’ Published in the 1840s, at a time of great expansion in the railways, the Scottish Railway Gazette was the perfect guide to those looking to invest into new rail related schemes, which explains its appeal to ‘capitalists and joint-stock proprietors.’

Scottish Railway Gazette | 5 April 1845

Meanwhile, the Scottish Railway Gazette provided ‘special reports of all meetings of shareholders in Scotland,’ alongside accounts of meetings held in England and in Ireland. The publication also printed share lists from London, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Glasgow, with correspondence from Paris, Dublin, Manchester, Bristol, Leeds, Hull and ‘other important towns’ printed within its pages.

Our updated titles

We’ve added new pages to our existing railway titles too this week, with an incredible 92,950 brand new pages added to the Railway Times, which span the years 1837 all the way through to 1900. This historic railway newspaper was established in 1837, and we now boast full coverage of this title from 1837 to 1914, covering seminal years of railway expansion and development.

Railway Times | 10 January 1880

This week also sees impressive updates to the Portsmouth Evening News. We have added over 240,000 brand new pages to this title from the south coast, which span the years 1986, and 1988 to 2000. Now the city of Portsmouth’s only paid-for newspaper, and known as simply The News, this title traces its history back to 1873.

The Opening of North Bridge Station and the North British Railway

As we mark 200 years since the birth of the railway, we’ve been taking a look at a raft of railway firsts, which you can explore here. Meanwhile, using our new railway titles this week, we’ve dug into another railway first, the opening of the North British Railway, which connected Edinburgh with Berwick-upon-Tweed, and saw the opening of North Bridge Station, which would form part of Edinburgh Waverley station.

Illustrated London News | 10 September 1842

The Scottish Railway Gazette described the opening only a few days later on 20 June 1846 as ‘an important epoch in the history of the Scottish railway system.’ Indeed, it related the importance of the new railway in the following terms:

The completion of the railway from Edinburgh to Berwick-upon-Tweed, which was celebrated on Thursday last, will not only, in no long time, double the value of almost every acre of land on which the line touches, but it at once reduces the distance from Edinburgh, Glasgow, and the East and North of Scotland to London, and the whole of the North of England, by a space (to speak according to the language of the day) of not less than four hours…

The article then went on to describe the first journey taken from North Bridge Station to Berwick-upon-Tweed. The train set off at ten o’clock, ‘on one of the most beautiful mornings that could well shine,’ watched by a crowd of ‘well-dressed men and women, among the elite of the city of Edinburgh.’ That very first train consisted of ’20 handsome carriages, drawn by 5 splendid engines,’ and it passed out of the city at the speed of 45 mph.

Illustrated London News | 18 July 1868

The writer notes the ‘sumptuous fitting up of the coaches,’ describing the journey through Piershill, Portobello, Linton, and Dunbar. Once approaching Berwick, the Scottish Railway Gazette notes the ‘long continuous views seaward,’ and the disappointment, thanks to hazy conditions, of not being able to see Holy Island.

The Scottish Railway Gazette tells of how ‘without any accident whatever we reached Berwick at five minutes past two o’clock.’ Here, the station was unfinished, but that was made up for by the crowds that came to meet the train, and ‘flags were flying from the station house.’

Illustrated London News | 6 October 1849

Discover more about the opening of the North British Railway, railway history, and much more besides, in the pages of our Archive today.

New Titles

Updated Titles

This week we have updated three of our existing titles.

You can learn more about each of the titles we add to every week by clicking on their names. On each paper’s title page, you can read a free sample issue, learn more about our current holdings, and our plans for digitisation.

You can keep up to date with all the latest additions by visiting the recently added page.  You can even look ahead to see what we’re going to add tomorrow.