Station Announcements back in the days of British Rail.

[AM9]

True, and across England as a whole I believe (e.g. "Birmingum").

Pronouncing the -ham as -HAM I've always thought of as an American pronunciation, as in BirmingHAM, Alabama.

Actually I've had a quick think and I believe that oddly, despite "ham" being a common ending, Farnham is the only station to have that ending on the entire set of routes which pass through Woking.

Another example of difficult pronunciation is Meopham, Kent. First passed through it, and noticed it in the timetables, in 1986 yet didn't learn that its pronunciation was "Meppum" until early 1996 when I heard it announced at Victoria. Before that I assumed it was Me-op-um. Easy one to remember once learnt, for the units which called at MEPpum in this era were CEPs and VEPs.

All this reminds me of a Peter Sellers sketch where with an american accent he enthused over "BAL-HAM, gateway to the south!"

 

[181]

Barn-STAPLE

As in a stapler? that'd be hilarious

To the extent that my memory is correct, yes.

Ah OK, you wouldn't think that as it's south of the M4 and in "Southern" territory. I always think of Bucks as about Marlow northwards, i.e the Chilterns and the land beyond - and would have actually have guessed Wraysbury was in Surrey if asked!

I think historically neither Surrey nor Berkshire extended north of the Thames, apart from the odd boundary anomaly here and there. The Middlesex-Buckinghamshire boundary appears to have met the Thames just upstream of Staines.

 

[nw1]

I think historically neither Surrey nor Berkshire extended north of the Thames, apart from the odd boundary anomaly here and there. The Middlesex-Buckinghamshire boundary appears to have met the Thames just upstream of Staines.

Interesting - so for a time Southern units operated in Bucks, which seems (to my mind) quite strange. In 1974 the stock on the Windsor branch would have presumably have included EPBs and SUBs - wonder if any later units (HAPs, VEPs, CIGs) made it up the Windsor branch before the boundary changes?

 

[D6130]

Interesting - so for a time Southern units operated in Bucks, which seems (to my mind) quite strange. In 1974 the stock on the Windsor branch would have presumably have included EPBs and SUBs - wonder if any later units (HAPs, VEPs, CIGs) made it up the Windsor branch before the boundary changes?

I don't recall SUBs working on the Windsor line, although they may have done before my time. However I do recall EPBs - particularly the two car version. IIRC, the Windsor and Weybridge services used to divide/combine at Staines, with 4 cars going to/from Windsor and 2 cars (4 in the peaks?) going to/from Weybridge

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I have distinct memories of the lady station announcer at Reading in the 1970s. We regular spotters knew her as 'Mrs Mortimer' and she was located in the power signalbox at the North side of the station. She was alleged to be the wife, or widow, of a senior army officer and delivered her announcements in quick-fire clipped tones....usually commencing with the words "Station announcer...."

When announcing an approaching train calling at the station, she would suddenly say (no bing-bongs there): "Station announcer! The nixt train arriving at pletform eet is the thirteen therty eet to Neewcarstle, calling et Oxfud, Benbury, Lemmington Spar, etc, etc."

When a terminating train had just arrived in a platform, it would be: "Redding! Redding! Train arraved at pletform fave terminates hair. All change! All change!" (The word 'please' never seemed to be part of her vocabulary).

When a non-stop train was approaching, she would announce: "Station announcer! Pessengers weeting on pletform four stend beck from the pletform edge. Fast train approaching!"

When I and my fellow spotters were wending our weary way home to Petersfield via Guildford on a slow, chugging 'Tadpole' (class 204) DEMU, we would amuse ourselves by seeing who could do the best 'Mrs Mortimer' impressions.

It might have been the same announcer at Reading, but in the 60s she always pointedly referred to "Weston...Super....Mare" at the end of a Bristol announcement as a precise extended statement.
"Change at Banbury for the north" was another regular announcement, as though Banbury was the end of the known world (there were very few through services in those days, I think just the Zulu sleeper to Birkenhead).
When the Pines Express (Bournemouth-Manchester) was diverted via Reading and Oxford it called at the isolated Reading West.

 

[D6130]

It might have been the same announcer at Reading, but in the 60s she always pointedly referred to "Weston...Super....Mare" at the end of a Bristol announcement as a precise extended statement.

Yes....that was the same lady. IIRC, she pronounced it as "Weston....Sooooper....Mare".

 

[Class08Shunter]

Did announcements say how many coaches a service consisted of?

 

[D6130]

Did announcements say how many coaches a service consisted of?

Not that I can recall.

 

[Irascible]

I don't remember ever hearing something like that - the nearest I can remember would be if you had to get in a specific part of the train for a particular station.

 

[Rescars]

I don't remember ever hearing something like that - the nearest I can remember would be if you had to get in a specific part of the train for a particular station.

And not always even that! IIRC the first intimation you got that part of a Hereford bound train was going to leave half it's coaches behind at Worcester was when the guard came through the train shortly after Evesham or Pershore to tell you to move to the coaches in front of the buffet car if you wished to avoid being left behind.

 

[stuu]

Tin'muth, Liss'cud and Wiv'lis'cum. The latter being usually shortened to Wivvy, though not by the station announcer.

Really? I have never heard Liskeard as anything other than Liss-Guard, with emphasis on the second syllable, either on a train, in the media or in person

 

[nw1]

Yes....that was the same lady. IIRC, she pronounced it as "Weston....Sooooper....Mare".

There was a man in the 80s who pronounced it similarly. "Weston SoooooperMare!"

 

[D6130]

There was a man in the 80s who pronounced it similarly. "Weston SoooooperMare!"

Possibly her son?

 

[nw1]

Possibly her son?

Maybe, yes. As I said above the Reading announcers were moderately entertaining even in the 80s: the key difference from the Southern was that they were manual and not automated. Mind you even the automated Southern announcements could be entertaining (e.g the ridiculous intonation of "Farncoooooombe" in the 1991 edition of the Woking announcements, mentioned above).

 

[GatwickDepress]

Ashford had a rather clipped RP voice actress for their announcements, which was in use until the rebuild in 1994. Truly the Waitrose of automated British Rail announcement systems. Interesting to me is the amount of onward connection information given, which these days (if given at all) is provided by the guard/OBS using RTT or manual announcements by station staff.

 

[amtrakuk]

I'd love to know who did the station announcements for Woking in the early 80s. I remember standing on platform 1 hearing "Woking... this is Woking...." in a rather authoritative female voice, The train arriving at platform 1 is for Waterloo, calling at West Byfleet, Byfleet and New Haw, Weybridge, Walton on Thames, Hersham, Esher, Surbiton, Wimbledon and Waterloo. If I recall Clapham Jct wasn't announced until I think the mid 80 something. Also I'm sure Platform 1 was originally Platform 2 - I could be wrong - I was only about 7. Anyway attached is a reminder.

I think I've found her! Angela Peberdy

 

[DarloRich]

Dahlinnen, This is Dahlinnen. T'rain ont platform 3 is the 1215 to Middlesbro and Saltburn callin at Dinsd( drowned out by departing HST) RedcarCentralRedcarEastLongbeckMaskandSaltburn

Always a manual announcement done by a local bloke with a decently thick accent and always done as quickly as possible between Rothmans. Wonderful stuff. Don't get that today!

 

[Snow1964]

My local station in 1970s was New Milton, only ever heard 2 announcements, someone from station staff had to walk down platform, open up one of those old wavy galvanised iron sheet sheds, where there must have been a mic, and amplifier for the tannoy style speakers.

So was pretty primitive in BR days where I grew up, and limited to announcements about disruption. Most of the time when disruption just walked along platform shouting out the message.

 

[Bletchleyite]

What would station announcements say back in the days of BR? If a Motorail train was about to leave a station, what would the announcement say? Would it say it was a motorail train? If a transpennine service or an intercity service was arriving at a station what would the announcement say? Would it say it was a transpennine service or an intercity service?

I never witnessed the departure of a Motorail train, but the brand "InterCity" was definitely used, and "TransPennine Express" was too - it's not a post privatisation brand, it dates back to the 1980s and has been painted on the side of the likes of Mk2 coaches in the past.

I do remember the "posh Northern" autoannouncer used around the North West - it was a sort of Victoria Wood type voice - extremely posh sounding but short vowels. "Good afternoon. Welcome to Wigan North Western. Thankyou for travelling <pause> InterCity".

Dahlinnen, This is Dahlinnen. T'rain ont platform 3 is the 1215 to Middlesbro and Saltburn callin at Dinsd( drowned out by departing HST) RedcarCentralRedcarEastLongbeckMaskandSaltburn

Always a manual announcement done by a local bloke with a decently thick accent and always done as quickly as possible between Rothmans. Wonderful stuff. Don't get that today!

There was one who used to do Preston in the late evening who added to the atmosphere of the station by actually singing the stations. And an Aussie at Euston, though I think he was post privatisation but pre Anne.

The Manchester Picc announcer used to be able to do "Gathurstappleybridgeparboldhoscarburscoughbridgenewlanebescarlanemeolscopansouthport" as one word.

 

[Gloster]

One of the things about station staff doing the announcements was that they would have to do it before the train arrived as they were supposed to actually be on the platform to watch it as it arrived, deal with it and then see it off. This had the advantage that they didn’t try to make the announcement while a massive diesel was throbbing away outside (yes, I will call a 33 that), but the disadvantage that last-minute arrivals wouldn‘t hear it. As I was still young and conscientious (a lifetime ago) I would nip back and give a second announcement if the train was stopped for more than a minute or so.

 

[prod_pep]

The old pre-Anne voice at Liverpool Lime Street was nicknamed 'the Queen' even though she used the Northern short-a vowel in words like 'staff'. She used what was effectively 'Northern Received Pronunciation', rarely heard these days. I think her voice could be heard at larger stations across Northern England (Wigan North Western, Preston etc.). She was much easier on the ear and more comprehensible than her common-sounding replacement.

 

[stadler]

The old pre-Anne voice at Liverpool Lime Street was nicknamed 'the Queen' even though she used the Northern short-a vowel in words like 'staff'. She used what was effectively 'Northern Received Pronunciation', rarely heard these days. I think her voice could be heard at larger stations across Northern England (Wigan North Western, Preston etc.). She was much easier on the ear and more comprehensible than her common-sounding replacement.

That was the standard BR Ditra Female voice. Nobody ever knew who she was. She was all over the NSE area too as well as along the WCML and various NW stations. She was still at Warrington Bank Quay and Wigan North Western until 2006 and at Bishops Stortford and Seven Sisters until 2012 so she lasted a while. I always liked her announcements.

 

[Forty29]

As heard clearly on the LP, 'Westerns; Diesel Hydraulics on the Western Region in 1974', where a diamond tipped drill of a voice announces in tones that will tolerate neither dissent or nonsense, "Redding! Redding!". Certainly she would never descend to the level of an incident I heard at Birmingham New Street from the same period where the announcement dissolves into hastily cut off giggles following some frivolity on the background.

Still have a copy of this LP! Remember the announcer well always liked her style, as did the late Terry Wogan who often took the Mickey of her "Redding! Redding!" announcement.

 

[Clarence Yard]

And on another LP, Supertramp’s “Crime of the Century”, on the track “Rudy” you can hear the late Roger Watkins when he was doing an announcing stint (as a trainee) at Paddington.

 

[43096]

My memory of pre-privatisation announcements at Macclesfield was that when a Manchester-bound IC service arrived the announcement was someone poking their head round the door of the supervisor's office and shouting "Stockport and Piccadilly only".

 

[The exile]

"Train now arriving at platform two is for Lawrence Hill and Bristol Temple Meads", just as a 2800 class hurries through platform 1 with a long train of loose-coupled coal empties.

Old numbering, I presume, as both wound now be interesting!

 

[DelW]

And on another LP, Supertramp’s “Crime of the Century”, on the track “Rudy” you can hear the late Roger Watkins when he was doing an announcing stint (as a trainee) at Paddington.

Thanks for that! Reading the earlier part of this thread reminded me of hearing that, I thought I remembered it being by Supertramp but couldn't recall the album or track name.

 

[owidoe]

Old numbering, I presume, as both wound now be interesting!

Not at Stapleton Road, which is where one would usually find trains to Lawrence Hill and BTM.

 

[dangerousdids2]

I guess it would depend on the person making the announcements, some would give detailed information about the arrival of the next train and others really couldn't be bothered, or maybe too busy doing several other tasks whilst announcing. Where I come from we only had one type of train so I can't comment on Intercity services or motor rail.

 

[Gloster]

I guess it would depend on the person making the announcements, some would give detailed information about the arrival of the next train and others really couldn't be bothered, or maybe too busy doing several other tasks whilst announcing. Where I come from we only had one type of train so I can't comment on Intercity services or motor rail.

It was a bit more formalised than that. Full-time announcers usually had a book listing what needed to be said for each train, effectively a script, and they stuck pretty much to that; they also had a series of prepared announcements to cover for most other matters. If an unplanned announcement needed to made they had a sort of mental template of what to say.

Where there weren’t full-time announcers and the station staff or signalmen had to do the job, it was rather left to common sense. At Andover we just had a list of the calling points for each train and, possibly, the main connections at Salisbury and Basingstoke. If you wanted to embellish it (“Change at Exeter Central for Exmouth. Change at Exeter St. David’s for…”) you could, but generally we had other things to do.