I went in quite a few as I did a lot of travelling by train in the 1970s, 80s and 90s but its really hard to remember their names.I am suitably unashamed that I know [knew] little of such places.
I must have visited 'The Wherry' - Norwich though.
Yes that article reminded me of 'the Shires' on St Pancras station, and your right sadly it does not mention 'The Gantry' but thanks for posting.
They must have had name changes. That leaflet gives the Brighton one as The Coastway, but I’m pretty sure by mid 80s it was called The Prince Regent. I’m not 100% sure even though I worked in it!
Yes, and it was called the Bechers Brook.
Also remarkably far-seeing, given the name of the now most famous user of Kings Cross!Slightly off topic, one of the cleverest names that BTH came up with was "Potters" for the cocktail bar at the Great Northern Hotel Kings Cross. Sadly I don't think there were any special deals on offer for season ticket holders from Potters Bar, though no doubt many asked!
Is your misspelling of Travellers Fare intentional?
I have a vague recollection of it being at Liverpool Lime Street, occupying the space that The White Star does on this picture...
https://i2-prod.liverpoolecho.co.uk/article26931163.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/1_JS300008024.jpg
The White Star, Casey Jones Burgers and Travellers Fare by the Merseyrail entrance (which was later converted to an Upper Crust sandwich shop) all date from the 1984 remodeling of the station concourse. Prior to the rebuild, the original Travellers Fare buffet, grill room and bar was in the ground floor of the North Western Hotel, along with the shops and ticket office. The rebuild was to allow BR to vacate the North Western Hotel building completely , resiting all the facilities out on the concourse which involved shortening platforms 1-6. There are some frustratingly small pictures of the interior of the old buffet here.
Great picture! Despite the low light levels and ensuing quality issues it brings back the era well.
www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Wizard marketing perhaps?
As far as I am aware, the North Western Hotel became offices and then abandoned and then student halls of residence and now a hotel again!
Yes, the hotel closed in the 1933 and was converted into offices as Lime Street Chambers (though the ground floor remained in use by the station). The use as offices did not last very long (presumably due to the construction of Rail House on Lord Nelson St. in the late 1960s) and apart from the ground floor it was basically abandoned. Once the station no longer required the ground floor after the 1984 concourse remodelling, it could then be sold off. It's mentioned in a November 1983 Hansard entry that there were negotiations for the 'largely disused building' to be redeveloped by Merseypride Developments (who at the time had bought the redundant Triumph car factory in Speke to convert to an 'enterprise park') after the station remodelling was complete, which ultimately fell through.
Some don't appear to have had names, at least when you look at period photos they are just labelled as a 'buffet' or 'buffet-bar' with period yellow on red TF signage but no apparent name.
Thanks - that's helpful info to know, ie that they were not all named individually.
Thanks - interesting gen.
Worcester? Or is that too straightforward?
I'm pretty sure the one at Crewe was initially known as The Lodge, so perhaps some were changed over the years.
According to Peter Land, Pru Leith joined the BTH board in 1978. Peter Land was Group Managing Director of BTH at the time. There's lots more about what happened next in his book "Sauce Supreme - the Annihilation of British Transport Hotels".
I don't know - looking at it, it hardly looks big enough to have had a restaurant. It's not the only old Roman-era city to have an area known as Foregate - being from Liverpool, my first thought was it may have been Chester General.Worcester? Or is that too straightforward?
As the drawing is in the corporate identity manual, is it possible that "Foregate" is merely an imagined name to indicate how the signage should look and doesn't apply to any physical location?
Great Links
Thanks - can you recall if the Eastbourne one was named?
Thanks I have that book, I need to read it again. That date makes more sense, but it does mean her own wikipedia page is not accurate if so...(which is quite possible, given I would assume Peter Land endeavoured to get his book factually accurate, one might hope.
The Tay Bar would be equally appropriate in Belfast….
Hmmm - you make a good point
Absolutely! The Orchard at the Great Western Royal, the Zodiac coffee shop at the Adelphi, Betjeman's carvery at the Charing Cross, L'Entrecote at the Great Eastern to name a few. All with very different styles of service, but most certainly none of them branded with anything that looked like or even hinted at any connection with Travellers Fare.
Thanks - interesting to read
Not even necessarily a railway gantry. Could be a local feature, and not necessarily close to the railway.
