Most popular newspapers among 1980s Thames Valley railway workers

[DK123GWR]

A rather unusual question here, but I would like to know what newspapers railway staff would have read. It is possible to find circulation figures to give an idea of the national trend (which would suggest The Sun is number one, then the the Daily Mirror, Daily Mail, Daily Express and The Daily Telegraph are the top five). Was this trend reflected among railway staff, or was one of the smaller papers more succesful with this audience? Thank you in advance for any help you may be able to provide.

[Flood]

Not sure about Thames Valley but 50014 still had a copy of the Evening Standard in its cab (from 2 days before withdrawal) nearly a year later when seen at Vic Berry's in 1988.

[HillsideDepot]

Those with easy access to the trains (i.e. train crew and staff at terminal stations) would probably read whatever was left on the train by passengers! Publications left on trains could include regional dailies like the Western Morning News from Plymouth, or the Western Daily Press from the Bristol area etc. Drivers especially would move around to gain promotions, so the opportunity to read the local news from "down 'ome" would be welcome.

 

I know from my bus experience, a higher proportion of drivers than you might think would read the broadsheets, a habit formed in more leisurely times when duties allowed 10 minutes or so at an outer terminus, and there was often also an unofficial pause for a few minutes at an intermediate town, so plenty of reading material was important as was a good crossword. The railway equivalent would perhaps be a Guard with time between his station duties, especially when working a route with ticket barriers at stations.

 

 

[Rivercider]

I worked further west (in Bristol), but as I recall if station staff dropped papers in to our office I think a wide variety got read. From the Sun to the broad sheets, and as Adrian has mentioned the Western Daily Press, (and Bristol Evening Post) were popular, as well as South Wales papers (Argus?). Also the horse racing paper (Racing Post?) 

 

cheers

[Steamport Southport]

It's one of the things people forget now is that people would normally buy a morning national paper and then the local evening paper later in the day. Often when going home from work.

 

The Evening Standard, Liverpool Echo, Manchester Evening News, Northern Echo, etc. depending on where you are from. The local papers are a shadow of what they were unfortunately. They were quality papers.

 

There was also the sports papers on a Saturday evening with the results in them. Something which died out first with Ceefax and then satellite TV and the internet.

 

 

 

Jason

[101]

Drivers would basically read whatever they picked up, and when working into a terminal station like Paddington you would usually walk through the train and pick a few up.

Messrooms usually had a mixture of papers and magazines on the table. 

Also the Sun fell greatly in popularity amongst union members during the miners strike and again after Hillsborough and even to this  day many drivers will throw the Sun into the bin if they see it in a mess room.

[caradoc]

I was a booking office clerk at Reading from 1980 to 1984, and if I did buy a paper it was usually the Telegraph - for the cricket reports ! More money was spent on railway magazines, often from the kisok (John Menzies ?) on Platform 4 while waiting for a train home to Oxford.

[Dagworth]

4 hours ago, 101 said:

Also the Sun fell greatly in popularity amongst union members during the miners strike

And the boycott after the union bashing move from Fleet Street to Wapping. All the Wapping papers took a hammering from railstaff at that point.

 

Andi

[The Stationmaster]

In the London Division you are looking at several very different situations.  At Paddington there were always plenty of 'papers going from the news delivery vans every night although the more convenient sized publications were usuually the most popular.  These 'papers then got themselves 'distributed' in various ways - a few went home with folk, some went to various offices on the station, some went to the mess rooms (various), and some finished up on the overnight staff and News trains so were further distributed when those trains reached their destination.

 

By the 1980s there were very few instances on commuter trains where traincrew had a chance to go through the train although very often the Guard would trey to pick up some and share them. with the footplate crew.  But in lots of cases the locos on commuter jobs had gone out earlier with the stock and had possibly acquired a freebie before heading Down line.  DMUs turning round at stations like Reading and Oxford would serve up what passengers had left behind as would trains receiving a knock out (turn round) clean in the platform at Paddington and these often meant copies of the various West Country and Welsh daily 'papers making their way into mess rooms or to favoured supervisors who liked to keep up with new from home.

 

I worked in the London Division off and on at various times between 1966 and 1985 and I knew hardly anybody who actually bought a 'paper apart from clerical etc staff at stations west of paddington.  Everybody else seemed to acquire a freebie of some sort or another and of those I think the Daily Mirror and Daily Mail were probably the most read although there were some keen followers of The Daily Telegraph.   The Sun tended very much to get left on mess tables and not be read by anybody. 

[The Pilotman]

I only qualify for being a Thames Valley railway worker towards the end of your period but I don’t remember any particular paper being more popular than others. Some titles I do remember seeing on a regular basis amongst the signalling grade include the Daily Telegraph, The Independent, the Didcot Herald, the Reading Evening Post, The London Evening Standard, most of the national tabloids and Viz (not, strictly speaking, a newspaper). 

Edited May 23, 2020 by Western Aviator

[Davexoc]

The first editions used to reach Old Oak Common early in the night shift, usually on a loco coming on shed for servicing. As the shift progressed, the later editions might turn up too.

Our welder lived in Reading, and always turned up with a copy of the Telegraph. Apparently he used to pretend to do the crossword on the journy home, but he just wrote gobbldygook according to someone who picked it up afterwards....

[DK123GWR]

Thank you all for the help.

[The Johnster]

On 23/05/2020 at 15:52, Western Aviator said:

Viz (not, strictly speaking, a newspaper). 

No, it's more accurate and truthful for a start...

 

My railway days were in the 70s and messrooms were always well provided with newspapers, either from the down papers that morning or picked up walking through trains.  We had to do this in pre-airco days to shut the windows before going through the carriage washer.  Walking through trains also provided magazines and a good selection of quality soft porn, the top shelf sort of stuff, most of which ended up on messroom walls, but some of them had interesting articles to read first.  These were bought by chaps who wanted to read them on the journey, mostly first class types, who were reluctant to take them home in case the SWMBO got wind of them.  I have always associated the sort of people who travel first class with a general overall mendacity...

 

I used to go for a Guardian first off, and work my way through the others later as and when they cropped up, but avoided the Sun, Star, Mail, and Express on principle.  I would often be asked for help with the Sun crossword, having a reputation as a bit of a know-all, and used to ask for the cryptic clues because they were easier than the easy ones.  I think people saw me with my Guardian and thought I could do it's crossword; not a hope!  I would happily read the Telegraph or Times despite their being unreconstructed tory rags, because they were in those days at least moderately intelligent and well informed unreconstructed tory rags...

 

I would read Polly Toynbee in the Mail sometimes just because she annoyed me so much; in the same way, I will go out of my way to watch any art programme presented by Brian Sewell, whom I despise on several simultaneous levels (let me state that I have no problem with his sexuality).  I have learned quite a bit about art history in the process of ranting at the screen!

 

Deze Daze I do not pollute my existence with anything in newsprint, and rely on the Beeb on line.

Edited May 24, 2020 by The Johnster