W. Heath Robinson - Railway Ribaldry: Being 96 pages of railway humour

NUT CRACKING ON THE G.W.R.

MR. W. HEATH ROBINSONS OWN PRIVATE RAILWAY ENGINE, NOT OFTEN ALLOWED ON THE G W.R

A BROAD-GAUGE ENGINE DRIVER FRATERNISING WITH A NARROW-GAUGE ENGINE DRIVER AFTER AN AMICABLE SETTLEMENT OF THE DISPUTE

THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY celebrates its one hundredth birthday this year, but unlike other centenarians such as trees and turtles, grows more youthful after a century of existence.

The Company, serious in its determination to maintain the enviable reputation that it has acquired in the past, is, as will be seen in the pages that follow, not without a sense of humour in giving Mr. W. Heath Robinson a free hand to apply his skill to the portrayal of certain events in its history.

Occasional excursions in a lighter vein help us to take life a little less seriously than we are generally called upon to do. It is hoped therefore that this contribution to the library of humour will be appreciated by our patrons, present and to be.

THE FIRST DOGS TICKET

THE RED FLAG

A WELL THOUGHT OUT AND NEARLY SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENT BY EARLY RAILWAY PIONEER

EARLY RAILWAY PIONEERS PROSPECTING FOR A SITE FOR A TERMINUS BY THE UPPER REACHES OF THE PADDINGTON CANAL

THE OFFICIAL WATER DIVINER OF THE COMPANY MAKING SURE THAT THERE IS WATER IN THE BOILER BEFORE THE COMMENCEMENT OF A LONG RUN

BUILDING THE FIRST LOCOMOTIVE

A VERY OLD BUT EFFICIENT TEST FOR BRAKES

AN OLD-FASHIONED METHOD OF TESTING THE SPEED OF ENGINES

CHECKING THE FIRST TIME-TABLE BEFORE PUBLICATION

INGENIOUS PLAN FOR FIXING THE APPROXIMATE TIMES FOR TRAINS TO COVER THE REQUIRED DISTANCE, USED SUCCESSFULLY IN THE COMPLETION OF THE FIRST TIME-TABLE

AN EARLY AND INTERESTING TYPE OF SIGNAL

NIGHT DUTY AT ONE OF THE FIRST RAILWAY SIGNALS

AN ERROR OF JUDGMENT IN THE GOODS YARD

GOODS AND PASSENGERS CARRIED TOGETHER IN THE OPEN

A SIMPLE METHOD OF DEALING WITH THE SMOKE NUISANCE IN THE DAYS OF THE OPEN CARRIAGE

BORING THE FIRST TUNNEL WITH AN EARLY TYPE OF ROTARY EXCAVATOR

AN UNFORTUNATE START FOR THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS

PULLING THE COMMUNICATION CORD IN ONE OF THE OLD OPEN CARRIAGES

PUTTING THE FINISHING TOUCHES AFTER A GOOD CLEAN UP

EARLY METHODS OF ENGINE CLEANING

THE RAILWAY POLICEMAN SAVES THE SITUATION

VARIED DUTIES OF RAILWAY POLICE