Ticket clippers question

[Western 52]

Years ago when we still had old fashioned clippers which punched a hole in each ticket, there were various symbols used. For example, I think clippers on Western Region made a hole that looked like a 5. What symbols were used, and did they have any significance? Did this vary regionally?

 

[driver9000]

Yes they did have a significance and I have a staff booklet which detailed what each of meant. I'll try to find it but from memory the 3 was LM region.

 

[Railsigns]

Deleted

 

[Pinza-C55]

I still have my nippers from King's Cross and from memory they made either a cross or a 3 leaf clover.

 

[D6130]

I still have my Southern Region guard's nippers from when I was at Brighton and then the Isle of Wight. They made a square hole on the edge of the ticket. There was a full list of all the ticket nips on BR in the Ticket Examiners' Handbook, but unfortunately I no longer have a copy. IIRC - with regard to Southern Region station barrier nips - Waterloo was unsurprisingly a letter W, Victoria a V with straight sides, London Bridge an L, Brighton a B, Charing Cross and Cannon Street a C and Holborn Viaduct an H. Smaller stations used a proper V.

 

[Ashley Hill]

Plymouth and Cornwall was a heart shape.

 

[Trainlog]

They still used them on Southeastern till about 10 years ago. The shape was of a duck.

 

[Pinza-C55]

I have a photocopy of the North Eastern Railway ticket nippers handbook. It is a fascinating read and to see how varied the designs were and how even small , long closed stations had their own design.

 

[Western 52]

There must have been quite a lot of work in making clippers with these designs. The WR ones I used when working as a guard on a preserved railway looked like they were hand made. A lot of fine filing work to get them working correctly.

 

[Bevan Price]

There must have been some unofficial designs as well. I forget whether it was Central Trains or later, but one guard on Liverpool / Birmingham services punched holes shaped like a (basic) steam loco.

 

[Ashley Hill]

I also gave a set of South Wales and West Railway nippers which emboss SWW onto a ticket.

There must have been some unofficial designs as well. I forget whether it was Central Trains or later, but one guard on Liverpool / Birmingham services punched holes shaped like a (basic) steam loco.

I believe Staples sold a range of novelty hole punches. I’ve also seen Xmas tree ones too.

 

[Friary Yard]

WR Ticket Examiners Nippers up to the 1970's punched a small round hole and embossed a letter and number which indicated the Station where the Ticket inspector or Guard were based. "A1" was the code for Paddington.
A "V" shaped, or rectangle with a "V" shaped end, clip was a Ticket Cancelling Clip.

 

[HotAirBalloon]

An interesting question for me is what was the purpose of all these varying shapes? If it was simply to cancel the ticket to prevent reuse then why the hassle?

Would anyone ever be clued up on all these clips/stamps to detect an irregularity?

 

[D6968]

An interesting question for me is what was the purpose of all these varying shapes? Would anyone ever be clued up enough to detect an irregularity?

Very much later on (mid 1990’s) Cross Country grippers had the head code stamped on your ticket, no use trying to complain about your train being late if you were on weren’t on that days 1V96!

 

[Ashley Hill]

An interesting question for me is what was the purpose of all these varying shapes? If it was simply to cancel the ticket to prevent reuse then why the hassle?

Would anyone ever be clued up on all these clips/stamps to detect an irregularity?

In theory you could trace the tickets use around the country. So if travelling out of Cornwall the ticket would get a heart shaped punch. This would be followed by a West Country 5. If then going up the Southern it would be followed by a thin rectangle.

 

[L401CJF]

Not quite "proper" stampers but it's certainly nostalgia as they're long gone. In the 90s and early 2000s Merseyrail Guards had ink stampers. It stamped a round circle with the depot "BC for Birkenhead Central" as an example, or "RP" for revenue protection along with the inspectors number.

I know it's a bit more modern than the OPs topic, but may be of interest to somebody!

Photo attached of a ticket from my own collection with a Birkenhead Central Guards stamp, dated 2005.

 

[D6130]

Would anyone ever be clued up on all these clips/stamps to detect an irregularity?

If nipped correctly and in the right order, you could tell whether a passenger who had broken their journey had tried to 'double-back' and cover one section of the route more than once.

 

[tspaul26]

An interesting question for me is what was the purpose of all these varying shapes? If it was simply to cancel the ticket to prevent reuse then why the hassle?

Would anyone ever be clued up on all these clips/stamps to detect an irregularity?

Yes, and the ability to trace a journey in this manner forms a plot point in Dorothy L Sayers’ Five Red Herrings.

 

[Pinza-C55]

If nipped correctly and in the right order, you could tell whether a passenger who had broken their journey had tried to 'double-back' and cover one section of the route more than once.

I think back in Deltic days there was a sub class of bashers who tried to get as many "grips" as they could or tried to get unusual grips.

 

[Ashley Hill]

I think back in Deltic days there was a sub class of bashers who tried to get as many "grips" as they could or tried to get unusual grips.

Most bashers I met did all they could to avoid getting gripped .

 

[davetheguard]

I think clippers on Western Region made a hole that looked like a 5.

That's a Western Region Guard's clip.

 

[Pinza-C55]

Most bashers I met did all they could to avoid getting gripped .

Apparently some of them managed to get through the ticket barrier at Waterloo by flashing a red Nestle chocolate bar.

 

[D6130]

Apparently some of them managed to get through the ticket barrier at Waterloo by flashing a red Nestle chocolate bar.

Did they get it clipped?

 

[Pinza-C55]

Did they get it clipped?

Ha ha at this length of time my memories are vague but I think one of them who tried this stunt ended up being nabbed by a TTI on the platform after he thought he had got away with it.

 

[D6130]

Ha ha at this length of time my memories are vague but I think one of them who tried this stunt ended up being nabbed by a TTI on the platform after he thought he had got away with it.

Perhaps he was trying to cadge a free ride to Bournville! (via Salisbury, Bristol and Birmingham).

 

[D6968]

N

Perhaps he was trying to cadge a free ride to Bournville! (via Salisbury, Bristol and Birmingham).

A pedant writes Nestle would be for York, Cadburys would be for Bournville

 

[CW2]

A class 40 basher who was also a booking office clerk made a good photocopy of the relevant pages of the Ticket Examiners Handbook, titling it "A Gripper's Guide to the Galaxy". It was a very useful and well-used document.
I recall that the much-feared Perth gripper known as "Loose Irons" had a personal set of ticket nips which were a dumbbell shape with a number 10 above.

 

[D6130]

titling it "A Gripper's Guide to the Galaxy".

We just can't get away from chocolate, can we! Never mind....it will soon be Easter!

 

[150219]

Years ago when we still had old fashioned clippers which punched a hole in each ticket, there were various symbols used. For example, I think clippers on Western Region made a hole that looked like a 5. What symbols were used, and did they have any significance? Did this vary regionally?

Two pages attached here. This is from a fairly hefty BR binder dating from 1983/4. There are also many different shapes that aren't listed, which may have dated prior to this guide which may have been used unofficially after they ceased to have any meaning. For example, I have seen a star shaped punch for sleeper berth tickets dating from the 70s/80s and this isn't shown in the guide. The Eastern Region page is missing E4, E6 and E9 but has the others, indicating these may have been withdrawn from official use prior to 83/4. The dumbbells mentioned in @CW2 post above do feature on one of the scanned pages, but with a number 8 for Inverness. @L401CJF post does refer to the rubber stamped style, which is possibly derived from BR embossed stampers which had a very similar design and also referred to in this guide too.

 

[Scott1]

I also gave a set of South Wales and West Railway nippers which emboss SWW onto a ticket.

I believe Staples sold a range of novelty hole punches. I’ve also seen Xmas tree ones too.

Most of my colleagues have got novelty ones from hobby craft. On some routes you know who checked the ticket by the animal on their punch!