1970s / 1980s Station Buffet & Bar - Do you remember 'The Gantry'?

[Shimbleshanks]

What an interesting leaflet. What an outrageously expensive membership fee for Camra, £51 !!! In 1980.

It's £5 with a dagger symbol next to it to denote a footnote. Mind you, even a fiver was quite a lot in those days.

 

[WesternLancer]

isn't that a "dagger" in typesetting (definitely railway WTT) terms?

Yes! Thanks. I knew it had a name but couldn’t think of it.

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It's £5 with a dagger symbol next to it to denote a footnote. Mind you, even a fiver was quite a lot in those days.

£21 according to Bank of England inflation calculator. I think CAMRA membership might cost more than that now.

 

[AndrewE]

Yes! Thanks. I knew it had a name but couldn’t think of it.

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£21 according to Bank of England inflation calculator. I think CAMRA membership might cost more than that now.

"from" £30.50 - including £30 of real ale (effectively Wetherspoons) vouchers and free entry to some beerfests... You can't afford not to!

 

[WesternLancer]

"from" £30.50 - including £30 of real ale (effectively Wetherspoons) vouchers and free entry to some beerfests... You can't afford not to!

Indeed!

 

[AndrewE]

"from" £30.50 - including £30 of real ale (effectively Wetherspoons) vouchers and free entry to some beerfests... You can't afford not to!

I have just had a look on the (old) Whatpub website and was surprised to see that, as expected, in Manchester there is a single Yates in the list of pubs which accept the vouchers, in London it is about 50/50 Spoons and others.

 

[Doctor Fegg]

From the photo, the sign looks in very good condition, almost unused. I wonder if it might have been produced for a station buffet branding that was never actually put into place?

 

[Snow1964]

It’s £4 or £5 for two people. But it has a cross for a footnote. So it’s £5+ not £51. But the cross is a ‘Christian’ cross that’s not on my keyboard to express it accurately, but looks like a 1 if glancing at the CAMRA leaflet.

On a normal Microsoft type keyboard, Hold down alt key, and type 0134 for dagger, the double dagger is 0135. I think you can also find them in symbols and punctuation in word etc

 

[AndrewE]

From the photo, the sign looks in very good condition, almost unused. I wonder if it might have been produced for a station buffet branding that was never actually put into place?

that's a good suggestion.

 

[KevinTurvey]

It’s £4 or £5 for two people. But it has a cross for a footnote. So it’s £5+ not £51. But the cross is a ‘Christian’ cross that’s not on my keyboard to express it accurately, but looks like a 1 if glancing at the CAMRA leaflet.

oops - zooming in and adjusting the contrast I see its not £51 but a £5 and a dagger symbol. Much more reasonable!

 

[Shimbleshanks]

Could it be a modern reproduction? I've seen a few British Rail repro station signs on Temu and the like, where you can specify the name of your choice under the double-arrow symbol. Are there people who get all nostalgic about old Travellers Fare buffets?

 

[WesternLancer]

Could it be a modern reproduction? I've seen a few British Rail repro station signs on Temu and the like, where you can specify the name of your choice under the double-arrow symbol. Are there people who get all nostalgic about old Travellers Fare buffets?

Pretty niche I’d have thought

But then as Sherlock Holmes would have said: once you’ve ruled everything else out, what’s left, however improbable, must be the case…

 

[eastwestdivide]

But have we actually ruled everything else out? We found a list of buffets, but probably not a comprehensive one, and the name doesn’t actually tell us anything about the location despite all the signal gantry theories (which I reckon is too narrow an interpretation).

 

[Halwynd]

But have we actually ruled everything else out? We found a list of buffets, but probably not a comprehensive one, and the name doesn’t actually tell us anything about the location despite all the signal gantry theories (which I reckon is too narrow an interpretation).

Although a signal gantry is a natural assumption to make, and might well be right, I've been wondering whether it could have been, or planned for, Middlesborough.

 

[AndrewE]

But have we actually ruled everything else out? We found a list of buffets, but probably not a comprehensive one, and the name doesn’t actually tell us anything about the location despite all the signal gantry theories (which I reckon is too narrow an interpretation).

I agree, I have always felt that the difficulty with Sherlock Holmes' method is that it assumes he/you are good enough to have actually thought of every single possibility.

I would go for either 1) it was in preparation when TF got sold or the scheme was cut back, or 2) somebody higher up saw it and vetoed it, so the upgrade went ahead with a different name - which doesn't rule out Rugby or other places with a Gantry connotation being the bar originally intended.

 

[Falcon1200]

An interesting discussion, but it occurs to me that 'the Gantry' is too esoteric a name for Travellers Fare to have used; Most people would not understand what it referred to, just as with 'The Cantilever' or 'The Fishplate', perhaps!

 

[Dr Hoo]

Perhaps it was supposed to be the ‘Pantry’ but some used a ‘G’ instead of a ‘P’ and the erroneous sign was discarded.

 

[Helvellyn]

Random thought - did Travellers Fare run any internal facilities for staff, e.g. a Works or major station?

 

[TinplateRunner]

From the photo, the sign looks in very good condition, almost unused. I wonder if it might have been produced for a station buffet branding that was never actually put into place?

Its a fair question / possibility however the person I bought it off said its frame (it was part of a double sides unit) was very worn and had been fixed to a wall. Also I've given it a good clean! Anyway - thanks for posting.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 Feb 2025 ==

An interesting discussion, but it occurs to me that 'the Gantry' is too esoteric a name for Travellers Fare to have used; Most people would not understand what it referred to, just as with 'The Cantilever' or 'The Fishplate', perhaps!

Yes I thought that but three people have suggested Rugby because it was the site of Britain's largest signal gantry - which I'm trying to check our via the local museum. Also there are several other 'Gantry' restaurants, bars around including in London and Sidney. However you're right it is pretty esoteric, and I had hoped its oddness would have been remembered by someone. Still keeping my fingers crossed.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 Feb 2025 ==

Could it be a modern reproduction? I've seen a few British Rail repro station signs on Temu and the like, where you can specify the name of your choice under the double-arrow symbol. Are there people who get all nostalgic about old Travellers Fare buffets?

I am as sure as I can be that its original. The person I bought it off said it was double sided, with a metal frame that had seen 'many years' of being outside. Also I've seen a couple of these (before I was able to buy this one) and it looks and feels pretty genuine. However you're right there is a fair amount of repro stuff around.

 

[yorkie]

Reopened for @2h402 to post the answer the opening poster is looking for...

 

[Leyland Bus]

Reopened for @2h402 to post the answer the opening poster is looking for...

Apolpgies if butting in but my thoughts is that @2h402 has seen the same post as I have and thought the same thing...

@brownncream.bsky.social

How about this @doublearrow64.bsky.social ? From the Southern Electric Group. Things of beauty.

bsky.app

As the photo in the link shows, the Gantry was ofcourse at Clapham Junction... Weird how these things sometimes get solved!

 

[Brush 4]

Referring to the overhead gantry signal box presumably......

 

[2h402]

Apolpgies if butting in but my thoughts is that @2h402 has seen the same post as I have and thought the same thing...

@brownncream.bsky.social

How about this @doublearrow64.bsky.social ? From the Southern Electric Group. Things of beauty.

bsky.app

As the photo in the link shows, the Gantry was ofcourse at Clapham Junction... Weird how these things sometimes get solved!

I did see that post, and in wondering where the photo was, stumbled across this thread! Good to see these things solved.

 

[WesternLancer]

I did see that post, and in wondering where the photo was, stumbled across this thread! Good to see these things solved.

Good work! I hope the op comes back and sees this (maybe you could DM them? ), as I see they don’t seem to have been on the forum since March 2025.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 8 Mar 2026 ==

Apolpgies if butting in but my thoughts is that @2h402 has seen the same post as I have and thought the same thing...

@brownncream.bsky.social

How about this @doublearrow64.bsky.social ? From the Southern Electric Group. Things of beauty.

bsky.app

As the photo in the link shows, the Gantry was ofcourse at Clapham Junction... Weird how these things sometimes get solved!

Great pic. I think we need a then and now image for this location.

Is that a 455 in the picture? I assume they would have been serving that platform until recently.

 

[2h402]

Good work! I hope the op comes back and sees this (maybe you could DM them? ), as I see they don’t seem to have been on the forum since March 2025.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 8 Mar 2026 ==


Great pic. I think we need a then and now image for this location.

Is that a 455 in the picture? I assume they would have been serving that platform until recently.

Wise. I've dropped them a DM.

 

[WesternLancer]

Wise. I've dropped them a DM.

Nice one. By the way do you know what date that picture was? I’m guessing early 80s. Probably pre network southeast.

 

[Leyland Bus]

Good work! I hope the op comes back and sees this (maybe you could DM them? ), as I see they don’t seem to have been on the forum since March 2025.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 8 Mar 2026 ==


Great pic. I think we need a then and now image for this location.

Is that a 455 in the picture? I assume they would have been serving that platform until recently.

Picture was taken around 1983/4 apparently...

 

[WesternLancer]

Picture was taken around 1983/4 apparently...

That looks about right I would have thought. Thanks

 

[Prime586]

Good work! I hope the op comes back and sees this (maybe you could DM them? ), as I see they don’t seem to have been on the forum since March 2025.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 8 Mar 2026 ==


Great pic. I think we need a then and now image for this location.

It's now a Starbucks. Here's what the entrance that''s hidden behind the pilliar in that picture looks like now.

 

[AndrewE]

It's now a Starbucks. Here's what the entrance that''s hidden behind the pilliar in that picture looks like now.

the reviews are a funny mixture...

 

[WesternLancer]

It's now a Starbucks. Here's what the entrance that''s hidden behind the pilliar in that picture looks like now.

Many thanks indeed. Helpful to see

I rather prefer the graphic design of the Travellers Fare signage. Nice to think @TinplateRunner has it preserved