Posters promote tickets to ride whatever the weather

The weather is a favourite topic for debate to this day for the British public, and advertising executives have used the discussions through the decades to entice more customers on to the nation’s rail network – whatever the meteorological conditions. An exhibition is being staged at the National Railway Museum in York of posters produced by train companies and tourism organisations to attract travellers by romanticising the beauty of autumn and winter whilst highlighting the dangers of using alternative modes of transport. Many of the featured posters, which date from the 1920s until 1999, have not been on public display since they entered the national collection.

NRM interpretation developer Ellen Tait said: “The railway companies used cutting edge design to play on our desire to escape the often cold and grey British winter. The unpredictable nature of weather affects us all and even the oldest posters are as relevant today as they were nearly a century ago.”

The exhibition, which runs until March 3, next year, also includes posters used to explain faults and delays caused by the winter weather rail companies were promoting.