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Railway
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The arrival of the railway to a town in the
nineteenth century usually inspired a pub name including the
word Railway. Inevitably, this generates interest among
train buffs as well as pub sign enthusiasts. However, there are
hundreds of them so a journey around them all could
take quite a long time. This is because not only are there
pub names including the word 'railway' such as Railway
Bridge, Railway Arch and Railway Tavern but there are also
around 200 pubs named after locomotives. In addition, there
are pubs names with related names like The Whistle Stop. The
first illustration could be found in West Bromwich. The pub
stands right next to the Birmingham-Wolverhampton Midland
Metro line which was established on the line of the former
Shrewsbury to Birmingham route. This was established in by
the Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton, Dudley and Birmingham
Railway and travelled through Bilston, Darlaston,
Wednesbury, West Bromwich and Smethwick. The company was
acquired by the Great Western in November 1846. Advertising
beers from Bass, the second sign can be found in Moira,
Leicestershire. It is an adaptation of a painting by Alan Fernlee,
a work which is on display inside the pub. The
gaffer is certain that it is of Bideford Station which has
since been converted into a pub called Puffing Billy. The
train here is a Great Western locomotive. The resulting sign
was painted by Nick Hardy. The line through Moira originally
linked Nuneaton with Burton-on-Trent and was principally for
the transportation of coal. Built by the London and North
Western and Midland Counties Coalfield Railway, it did
however carry passenger services but these ceased in 1931.
Today, part of the track is used by a Railway Preservation
Society, the Shackerstone Railway Company who operate a
Battlefield Line tourist service between Shackerstone and
Shenton close to Ambion Hill and Bosworth Field where King
Richard III, the last Plantagenet King of England, was slain
on 22nd August 1485. Painted by Rob Rowland in 1998, the
third sign can be found at the Railway Tavern in Nuneaton.
It's a wonderful illustration but I'm not sure which
locomotive is depicted. Any train buffs know the answer?
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