Blue Pullman

Western Region Publicity

The WR had a much easier job of publicising the services as the LMR services had started two months earlier to a very favourable reception. Nevertheless, considerable effort was made by the Regional Public Relations & Publicity Department to present the appeal of high-speed luxury travel.

The advert with timetable appeared in the August 24, 1960, edition of Punch Magazine (courtesy of Kevin Lane). Note that the term 'Blue Pullman' is absent, which seems to be common on much of the WR publicity.

Following the LMR's lead they also produced their own brochure 'Pullman Diesel Express Service', in conjunction with the Pullman Car Co. Ltd. It included a comprehensive description of the eight car sets and notes on the routes and places of interest to be seen, a brief history of the Pullman Car Co Ltd since 1859, a specimen 'a la carte' menu, wine list, details of railway fares and Pullman supplements, and provisional timetables. The 20-page brochure had colour illustrations with pictures of the exterior and interiors of first and second class saloons, and there was a simplified diagram of the routes. They also produced a simpler foldout leaflet.

A simple colour poster is shown above right.

British Transport Films made a movie of a Paddington - Birmingham journey "Let's Go To Birmingham". It can be found on youtube.

The poster on the left was printed in six colours by Waterlow & Sons Ltd, and 1,000 copies were distributed throughout British Railways. See it in full colour on Getty Images.

Right: a very different advert produced to promote the South Wales Pullman. The text reads "Says Mary, wife and mother: 'My husband has to get around in his job, and since he has changed back to trains he has become a new man. No more evenings snappy as a swordfish, too fagged out to talk. He lets the railways do the driving now while he sits back and relaxes'"