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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 11, Issue 4 (July 1, 1936)

[section]

L.M.S. Station Commissionaire, or “Passenger's Friend,” on duty at Euston Station. London.

One of the pleasantest—though certainly not the easiest—of tasks that falls to the railwayman is that of providing travel facilities for the holiday-maker. In Britain the summer holiday season is now in full swing, and on all the principal routes to the sea, business is exceptionally heavy. While many holiday-makers find their way to their favourite beach resort by road, by far the bulk of the season's vacation traffic is handled by the railways. Every week-end the popular holiday expresses are run in duplicate and triplicate, and on famous trains, like the “Scarborough Flier” of the London & North Eastern line, and the Great Western “Cornish Riviera Limited,” the knowing traveller usually engages accommodation well in advance.

The modern holiday-maker has a wealth of facilities placed at his disposal by the railways. Fast streamlined trains; cheap fares; seat reservations; the helpful services of the “station commissionaire”; luggage in advance facilities; camping coaches; splendid dining car service; unlimited break-of-journey privileges; and travel literature of every kind; these are but a few of the many ways in which the present-day vacationist is helped by the railways.

Strewn on the table beside me as I write are copies of what are probably the four most remarkable travelguides in the world. Priced at six-pence each, these are the annual hand-books and hotels lists of the Home group systems. There is a “Holidays by L.M.S.” guide, of the largest group —a guide containing 1,072 pages, and 144 photographs. Then comes the L. & N.E. “Holiday Handbook,” with 824 pages of information for the vacationist, and more than 5,000 addresses of hotels and other accommodation. The Great Western “Holiday Haunts” runs to 1,000 pages, and contains a wealth of informative matter and nine maps. “Hints for Holidays” is the Southern Railway's publication, with 936 pages and over 1,000 illustrations. Many other smaller booklets are, of course, published by the Home railways for the guidance of the prospective holiday-maker. These four big books, however, form the main plank of Home railway travel publicity.