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The Railway Review

Masthead of The Railway Review

Digitised editions

Early issues of The Railway Review, "a weekly newspaper for railwaymen" produced by the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants and its successor the National Union of Railwaymen, have been digitised to help preserve and provide wider access to the fragile volumes.

The digitised editions cover the following dates:

Some of the stranger stories from the newspaper are highlighted in Tales of the Unexpected in The Railway Review.

'Battle of Bread': Tales from the Victorian breadline

The first editor of 'Railway Review', James Greenwood, was a “social explorer” known for his colourful descriptions of working class life in London. Early editions of the NUR newspaper include Greenwood's articles on the urban underclass of the early 1880s - from mudlarks to quack medicine sellers.

First World War cartoons

We have also digitised and made available online cartoons from 'The Railway Review' dating from August 1914 to December 1914. The cartoons, drawn by 'DIN', include satirical comment on railway working conditions and management, wartime social problems (including profiteers and food shortages), the introduction of women workers, the 1918 general election and plans for post-war reconstruction.