What sort of memorabilia and where to source it for railway themed micropub?

Hello all, I’m after a bit of advice and hope you can help. We have a micropub project underway and because of its location near to a railway station we are keen to follow a railway theme. We do not have unlimited funding so what memorabilia items would you recommend and where is the best places to source the items. Thank you all in advance.

The first question has to be: where are you?

If you are in, say, south Dorset, near Templecombe or some such, perhaps Caledonian Railway memorabilia won't mean to much to the locals, and having a GWR King nameplate above the mantlepiece might not be the best idea either. (not that I suspect you could justify a real nameplate on business grounds)

Also, who are your clientel? Those of us who remember steam are beginning to get long in the tooth. Maybe 1960s-70s diesel era might suit better? A lot depends on how enthusiastic you are.

We are in Nottingham and expect variety of clientele but probably not many railway experts although if word gets around who knows? Cost will be the limiting factor so probably more repo than original.

Just search on ebay and you will find reproduction cab plates, station nameboards and even departure posters - this one is for Nottingham Victoria https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1941-LNE...244848?hash=item5b4a759930:g:ZWkAAOSw4fZbXe8H - genuine railway posters can often be picked up relatively cheaply - probably cost more to get them framed and again there are plenty of cheapish reproductions - ebay is generally the cheapest place for most of this stuff

Redders33 said:

We are in Nottingham and expect variety of clientele but probably not many railway experts although if word gets around who knows? Cost will be the limiting factor so probably more repo than original.

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Funny thing that you are in Nottingham - I remember, almost 50 years ago - sort of 1970-71, there was a railway themed pub in the Victoria Centre - in a cellar. As you went down the stairs, there was a nameplate from Sherwood Forester (google 46112, Royal Scot class - it was a Nottingham engine around 1959-1961 time) screwed onto the wall above your head. I always assumed it was genuine - though the pub itself was rather faux, done out as psuedo compartments.

Well, as deltic has said, you can find all sorts of imitation stuff out there. I'm sure a certain kind of clientel would be happy with that, though personally I'm the type that would give it a look, but not too seriously. Given that Nottingham has a rich railway history, I'd try to make contact with some local groups, and try to get some genuine photographs of railway development in the area (you cou keep it to sort of Grantham - Retford - Sheffield - Derby - Leicester - Melton Mowbray kind of geographical area.
But even in Nottingham itself you had the Midland Railway/LMS, the Great Northern-Great Central/LNER. You had a zillion lines in the Nottingham-Mansfield - Trent Jcn triangle. You've got the dieselisation of the Midland from 1960-65, After the closure of the GC and Colwick in 66, and loads of closures and rationalisations into the 80s. But you've also got the reopening of the Mansfield line, and stations on the Erewash Valley, starting with Mansfield & Alfreton Parkway in c 1971 (?). The arrival of HSTs on the Midland in 1982. And the development of the Nottingham tram network from about 1990.

So there is stuff that both the hard enthusiast would like to see, as well as local 'normals' from the surrounding areas, some of whom would remember these events.

A lot depends on how much time you want to invest in it - but you could try to contact the GC people at Loughborough and the Midland Railway centre at Butterly
http://www.midlandrailway-butterley.co.uk/
Maybe the folks at Matlock too. Indeed, there is serious heritage railway stuff all around Nottingham (well, Loughborough, Matlock, Barrow Hiill, etc) which probably deserves some photos.

And there must, I suppose, be some serious railway society meetings in Nottingham itself.

Ask around - you might well get some people prepared to lend you photos or 'simple' railwayana like tickets on display for a few months at a time who'd be happy to see their stuff on the walls. I presume it would have to be well secured, however, given the light-fingered habits of certain folk.

For various 'bits and bobs' you could do worse than check out the 'emporium' on Loughborough Central GCR, plenty of pictures and if I remember right plates probably off old wagons or carriages, as well as zillions of old books which won't be of much use. I find most of the larger pres lines have a place like that somewhere, though some are a bit difficult to find or are only open certain days.

Generally speaking I think pictures and paintings (often by local amateur artists) of the local area tend to go down well, an obvious one for yourselves would be B17 61666 Nottingham Forest https://nottstalgia.com/forums/topic/605-the-locomotive-nottingham-forest/ I find most pubs with a bit of railway memorabilia in will have a picture of their local club's B17 somewhere, no matter how unlikely it was to ever come thoigh there! Good publicity for the old LNER and for modern railway pubs alike!

It's tempting to just think steam, but there's great interest in BR diesels too, especially the BR Blue era, and increasingly sectorisation.

Nameplates might be a bit much, at least to start with, but I think a few pubs have ended up being gifted or loaned things like homemade tour headboards that have sometimes been hanging around in lofts for donkeys years.

Fittings from signal boxes usually aren't too hard to come by at reasonable prices, especially with the way they've been rationalised in recent years.

Perkins restaurant is the former Plumtree station on the Midland line to Melton. It isn't highly railway themed but it has a few old timetables and posters and recently acquired a rather Lowry-esque mural of people waiting on a platform.

Have a look here

https://www.twgaze.co.uk/auctions/c...archForm?Query=&ItemsPerPage=*&ItemsPerPage=*