Description

As heirs to the enterprising publicity and public relations publications of the London & North Eastern Railway under successively Teasedale, Dandridge and Dow, their followers in the nationalised North Eastern and Eastern Regions were frustrated by restricted budgets and changes of policy which saw the end of attractive booklets promoting the countryside, and colourful holiday resort posters. Until about 1960 (NE Region commissioned their last “pictorial” poster around that time) a poster advertising say Scarborough, might attract a considerable number to go there by train, As the deacade progressed they were more likely to go by car or to take a cheap air package holiday in the sun. The increasing number of country branchlines closed during the same period , effectively severely reduced the “Go for a ramble by Train” market. There was also the problem of accounting for and selling priced items, complicated by staff demands in some travel centres for a commission to be paid on each sale. Policy dictated that fares and services be publicised, not destinations as such.

Eastern Region made something of a breakthrough in 1975, with three hugely successful booklets, which more than paid for themselves, celebrating the Rail 150 Cavalcade. Using the four Civil Engineering Dept staff photographers, the whole operation was planned with military precision, so that the first booklets were edited, printed and on sale within days of the event, prempting any “commercial” publisher aiming for the “budget” end of the market. Sales and distribution were conrolled by York H,Q. And enabled a couple of redundant staff to be kept on until reaching minimum retirement age. The department was not allowed to retain much money after all expenses had been cleared, but it did provide some cash, which with the right synergic input from other organisations, produced useful results. Cooperation with a brewery, with an arts and technical college and with local authority representatives and tourist atractions meeting as publicity working parties for individual lines, produced some excellent booklets at very ecomomical cost.

“Cameron’s Guide to the Esk Valley Railway by Train”, was a case in point. It was a joint production with a small publishing company run by a retired railway officer. The cost was funded by Cameron’s Brewery, who had a substantial presence in pubs throughout the catchment area of the railway . These would stock the booklet and sell to customers. The publisher would  arrange sales direct by post, and through the book trade, in return for a percentage of the nett. .The author, a was a knowledgeable writer  on transport matters, and worked with British Rail, Eastern on other joint projects.   Thus with good will and cooperation all round an attractive and informative booklet resulted, without damaging anyone’s budget too much.