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Dr Alexander Jackson @dralexanderjackson.bsky.social · 10d

But this relied on away clubs hiring special charter trains. In the end it was used only 4 times in the 1990/91 season.

Opened by England manager Bobby Robson, at £320,000 it was something of a white elephant.

And that's all for our #Railway200 thread! We hope that you enjoyed the ride!

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Dr Alexander Jackson @dralexanderjackson.bsky.social · 10d

And we now finish our journey at the now defunct Ramsline Halt station. We have the sign in our stores.

It opened near Derby County's Baseball Ground in 1990. It closed in 1997. It was designed to avoid altercations between opposing fans at Derby station by sending away fans direct to the game.

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Dr Alexander Jackson @dralexanderjackson.bsky.social · 10d

The 1970s also saw the railways become sites for the growing menace of football hooliganism.

Vandalism of British Railway carriages became one part of the bad behaviour exhibited by travelling fans.

This 1968 Daily Mirror cartoon at least finds a bit of fun by imagining a retaliatory raid!

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Dr Alexander Jackson @dralexanderjackson.bsky.social · 10d

We next head off on a works excursion with workers from Littlewoods Pools in the 1970s.

Despite its large workforce, Littlewoods was renowned for its family atmosphere, with lots done to help its workers socialize. It looks like these women are ready for a fun day out!

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Dr Alexander Jackson @dralexanderjackson.bsky.social · 10d

Our next journey takes in a boat-train from France to England, as taken by the Italian national side in 1949.

Flying would have been quicker. But in 1948 the tragic Superga disaster killed 18 players from Torino, including many internationals. As a result, the Italian FA opted against flying.

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Dr Alexander Jackson @dralexanderjackson.bsky.social · 10d

Our next stop is Liverpool via Preston - with times provided by Everton manager Cliff Briton to amateur goalkeeper Keith Mitton.

I'm not sure how I feel about 15 min being enough time to get from the station to Goodison though! Feels a bit of a rush to me.

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Dr Alexander Jackson @dralexanderjackson.bsky.social · 10d

Our perhaps you fancy adding it to your model railway? The world famous Hornby company produced this model version - this one represents Loco 61648 - or Arsenal.

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Dr Alexander Jackson @dralexanderjackson.bsky.social · 10d

Fancy some reading for our imaginary journey?

This article from the FA Book for Boys looks at the trains named after football clubs between 1936 and 1943.

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Dr Alexander Jackson @dralexanderjackson.bsky.social · 10d

As a result, some teams started to experiment with alternatives.

Before coaches there was the charabanc - a bigger version of a car and also uncovered.

Barnsley took one to a game around Christmas 1916 - through sleet and snow! Unsurprisingly, their players struggled somewhat during the game!

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Dr Alexander Jackson @dralexanderjackson.bsky.social · 10d

Our next stop is Penistone Station in South Yorkshire - and if you want to change trains, be quick about it!

Men's football continued during the FWW. With reduced train services, journeys were much longer and harder.

Many teams found themselves at Penistone having missed a connection!

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Dr Alexander Jackson @dralexanderjackson.bsky.social · 10d

Our next destination is Derby during the First World War.

Women's football boomed in popularity as part of charity efforts on the Home Front.

This is one of over 240 teams formed during the war - this is from workers in the Chief Mechanical Engineer's Department of the Midland Railway.

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Dr Alexander Jackson @dralexanderjackson.bsky.social · 10d

Amongst the players listed on the trophy is one José Nasazzi. He captained Uruguay to victory in the 1924 and 1928 Olympic Football Tournaments and the inaugural FIFA World Cup in 1930.

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Dr Alexander Jackson @dralexanderjackson.bsky.social · 10d

Next Stop Uruguay - where British railway workers set up sports clubs.

This trophy was presented in 1921 to Athletico Roland Moor. It would seem the club was connected to Roland Moor, Director of the Central Uruguay Railway, who was also involved with Club Atlético Peñarol

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Dr Alexander Jackson @dralexanderjackson.bsky.social · 10d

We next alight at the 1900 and 1901 FA Cup Finals - refereed by Arthur Kingscott, an auditor for the Midland Railway.

As well being a top-level referee, Kingscott was on the FA Council. He acted as its Treasurer, helped select Int teams and travelled with them to Europe and Canada.

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Dr Alexander Jackson @dralexanderjackson.bsky.social · 10d

Next stop - the FA Cup Final in 1891 and 1889. The railways famously allowed northern working class fans to "invade" London, seen here in these contemporary images for illustrated magazines.

What became a well-worn trope in reports was ironically most likely first written by a northerner

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Dr Alexander Jackson @dralexanderjackson.bsky.social · 10d

Our first stop is one of the best known connections - Manchester United's origins in Newton Heath FC, which was founded by workers from the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company.

Baines card depicting Welsh Int John Powell, who worked as a fitter.

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Dr Alexander Jackson @dralexanderjackson.bsky.social · 10d

With it being #Railway200 this weekend, here is a potted look at what @nfmofficial.bsky.social has in its collections related to football and the railways (plus the odd bit from my own research)

All aboard! 🧵🚆

a man wearing a hat is playing with a train set .

ALT: a man wearing a hat is playing with a train set .

media.tenor.com

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Dr Alexander Jackson @dralexanderjackson.bsky.social · 13d

Looks suspiciously like the Players Union Armband/badge of the 1910s?

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Dr Alexander Jackson @dralexanderjackson.bsky.social · 13d

Looks suspiciously like the Players Union Armband/badge of the 1910s?

Dr Alexander Jackson @dralexanderjackson.bsky.social · 13d

It's not a glamorous job, but someone has to feed the unicorns.

Behind the scenes as the NFM prepares for the launch of our new book

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Dr Alexander Jackson @dralexanderjackson.bsky.social · 15d

Cheers!

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Dr Alexander Jackson @dralexanderjackson.bsky.social · 16d

Great to see the pics - looks like an amazing evening 😊

Dr Alexander Jackson @dralexanderjackson.bsky.social · 19d

"cough"..

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Dr Alexander Jackson @dralexanderjackson.bsky.social · 19d

We've come a long way since Herbert Chapman got told off for coaching his Arsenal players during a game...

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Dr Alexander Jackson @dralexanderjackson.bsky.social · 20d

Sadly Campbell died relatively young from the Spanish flu in 1918, shortly before the war ended. Tom Maley was a friend and mentioned his death in his own newspaper column. Campbell gets quoted a fair bit in my book on the First World War and I look at his role writing football history