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The Railway Poster in Britain

Holiday travel

It was above all with holiday travel that railway posters became associated in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. They promoted a world of sunshine, sandy beaches and endless fun. Growing prosperity led to an increased demand for travel, which the railways saw as an important source of revenue. The companies were fortunate before the First World War in having few competitors for this traffic.

Excursions From London poster

London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
Excursions From London 1901
© National Railway Museum / Science& Society Picture Library

The rapid growth of seaside resorts in the nineteenth century owed much tothe expansion of the railway network. Sea bathing increased in popularity and railways were able to provide fast access from the towns and cities for those who could afford it. The railways provided affordable transport to parts of the country which had been previously inaccessible and to the new resorts around Britain's coasts. However, the new visitors that the railways brought were not always welcomed. 

At Bridlington, in Yorkshire, regular visitors and residents disliked the first day-visitors and the station was sited well away from the sea. Most of the larger resorts came to cater for all classes of visitor but other stried to retain a more select clientele.

Bridlington poster

London and North Eastern Railway
Bridlington by H. G. Gawthorn, ca. 1930
© National Railway Museum / Science & Society Picture Library

In some cases the resorts created by the railways had been little more than villages before. In 1871, Skegness in Lincolnshire had a population of less than five hundred. Two years later a railway line was opened to the town and a large station built, in the hope of attracting holiday traffic to the sandy beaches. The crowds came and facilities grew. By 1907 Skegness was attracting 300,000 visitors a year, mostly from the industria ltowns of the East Midlands and Yorkshire. 

Skegness is so bracing poster

London and North Eastern Railway
Skegnessis so bracing by John Hassall, 1926
© National Railway Museum / Science& Society Picture Library

Photo of Railway publicity stands on a show ground

London and North Western Railway
Railway publicity stands on a show ground ca.1909
© National Railway Museum / Science & Society Picture Library