August 2025: Bradshaw’s Railway Companion 1839
August’s Object of the Month is an 1839 copy of Bradshaw’s Railway Companion or timetable. It is a new acquisition to the Museum and was part of a collection of other Bradshaw’s companions from 1839 to 1844. The timetables were the idea of George Bradshaw (1801-1852), an engraver and printer of maps based in Manchester. This companion is the 3rd edition of the timetable and was issued in October of that year. It is a small hard back book (about 12cm x 8cm) and was priced at 1 shilling. It was designed to be a handy travelling aid, small enough to fit in a coat pocket or purse.
The inside front cover of the timetable. Note the use of ‘10th month’ for October – Bradshaw was a Quaker and did not use the standard named months as they were considered ‘pagen’ words.
This 1839 edition of the timetable contained several maps and plans, including a foldout map of England and Wales. At this time the railway lines marked on the map were very few and far between. A red line showed the open sections, with yellow marking the unfinished route. Large swathes of the country did not have an open railway line at this time.
The fold out map highlighting both open and incomplete lines.
The Great Western Railway is included in this companion, but at this time it was a very limited route. The line was only open between London Paddington to Twyford, a total of 31 miles. It called at Ealing, Hanwell, Southall, West Drayton, Slough and Maidenhead. By the time the 1840 timetable was published the route had opened to Reading. In 1841 Box Tunnel had been completed and Bath was the terminus in that year’s companion, and by 1842 the line was open to Bristol and beyond.
A close up of the stations open on the GWR line in 1839.
