by Phil Trendall
The BTPHG has recently acquired, thanks to the ever watchful Steve Beamon, a single page document dated 7th May 1842. It is a 180 years old this week. It is a police report sheet from the Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway (GP&GR). The instructions on the sheet remind officers that they “are forbidden to cross the lines themselves, or allow others to do so, in front of an approaching Engine; or to stand within three feet of the Rails”. They were also required to patrol the track looking for faults and obstructions.
Two policeman have signed the sheet, covering the east and west directions. A third signature appears at the bottom of the page.
The GP&GR was short lived. It opened in 1841 and by the end of the decade it had merged into the Caledonian Railway. This document comes from the early days of the railway and this is evidenced by the comment “The fence at the ? docks is not yet put up”.
Duties such as signalling and the checking of the permanent way were common in the early days of railway policing. However we know from newspaper reports that the GP&GR Police were also involved in the detection and prosecution of offenders. For example the Glasgow Herald 28 June 1847, (p4) reports that two men were charged by the GP&GR railway police with fare evasion and assault. One was fined 15/- and the other 5/-. The same newspaper (18 May 1846, p4) describes observations for baggage thieves and pickpockets conducted by the Superintendent of the GP&GR police.
Further afield in Dunse (Berwickshire) Sergeant Proudfoot of the railway police (company unknown) arrested a man for the murder of his wife (Glasgow Herald, 23 April 1849, p4) and in 1849 a railway policeman was badly injured in a riot by navies at St Boswell’s Fair (North British Daily Mail 23 July 1849). Altogether it seems that the railway police in this period combined the mundane railway duties expected of their officers with other tasks that are more recognisable as police work to modern observers.
This document provides a physical connection with the earliest days of railway policing. It is a treasure. I am hopeful BTPHG will display it during the planned Autumn Open Day.
Originally published on the blog: Policing Public Transport: A Neglected History