An Invitation to Attend a ‘Transport Ticket Fair’ in London, Birmingham or Bristol

Do you have a vague, or passing, or even an intense interest in railways, trams or buses? If so have you ever encountered the hobby of transport ticket collecting before?

These pieces of pasteboard (referred to as ‘Edmondsons’, after the inventor) or thin card (punch tickets) can provide a cohesive link with a station, route, or area that you may be interested in.

We will use Ilfracombe (North Devon) as an example of a closed railway. Closure came in October 1970 for the stations of Barnstaple Town, Wrafton, Braunton, Mortehoe and Woolacombe (plain Mortehoe until 1950) and Ilfracombe, although ticket issuing facilities at the stations were withdrawn in 1968. The southern and northern sections of the branch are now public bridleways (rights of way for walkers, cyclists and horses) and the northern section includes a tunnel named Slade. Nowadays you could easily miss the site of Braunton station, although Mortehoe and Woolacombe is part of a children’s adventure park. Of Ilfracombe, no trace remains, apart from a railway lamp standards and Station Road, which is quite steep, i.e. a long walk with your holiday baggage! It may now be reassuring to know that tickets (used and unused) associated with this branch are available and quite often for a modest price.

If tickets from this branch or indeed hundreds of other closed and open routes within the United Kingdom potentially interest you, then feel free to come along to a fair and inspect our stocks and that of other reputable dealers and see what you can find. Your circumstances may be many and varied:

• Perhaps you would like some tickets to complement some station signs you already have?
• Perhaps you are after some tickets for your local or specialised transport museum?
• Perhaps a more unusual present for a relative interested in railways?
• Maybe you have a hankering for platform tickets which allowed you onto station platforms for the sum of originally ‘one penny’, to bring back to life your locomotive observations days?

1. Selections of tickets in specific price bands which are displayed in order as follows:
• ‘Pre-Grouping’ (tickets up to 1923);
• ‘Pre-Nationalisation’ (tickets from 1923 to 1948);
• ‘British Railways/Rail’ (tickets from 1948 to 1988 in regional order).
2. Tickets from specific geographical areas all at a set price, for example, Devon (at two pounds per ticket) can be found in separate containers; however, not all areas are covered.
3. Selections of more specialised tickets, again in price bands, for example platform tickets, tram and bus tickets.

Colleague dealers will offer their own unique range of tickets.

Before attending, it would help if you send us an email letting us know of your potential interests. That way an enhanced service can be made available for you. Upon your arrival the proprietor will normally greet you and will be clearly identified by a GBTicket name badge.

We look forward to seeing ‘one and all’.

See more information (dates, directions and maps) about Bristol Ticket Fair, London Ticket Fair and Birmingham Ticket Fair.