Editing Great Western Railway (section)

===Passenger services===
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; margin-left:10px;"<!--style avoids LH text overlay-->
|-
!&nbsp;Year&nbsp;!!&nbsp;Passengers&nbsp;!!&nbsp;Train mileage&nbsp;!!&nbsp;Receipts&nbsp;
|- style="text-align:right;"
|'''1850'''&nbsp;||2,491,712&nbsp;||1,425,573&nbsp;||£630,515 <small>(£{{Formatprice|{{Inflation|UK|630515|1850|{{inflation-year|UK}}|r=0}}}} in {{inflation-year|UK}})</small>
|- style="text-align:right;"
|'''1875'''&nbsp;||36,024,592&nbsp;||9,435,876&nbsp;||£2,528,305 <small>(£{{Formatprice|{{Inflation|UK|2528305|1875|{{inflation-year|UK}}|r=-4}}}} in {{inflation-year|UK}})</small>
|- style="text-align:right;"
|'''1900'''&nbsp;||80,944,483&nbsp;||23,279,499&nbsp;||£5,207,513 <small>(£{{Formatprice|{{Inflation|UK|5207513|1900|{{inflation-year|UK}}|r=-4}}}} in {{inflation-year|UK}})</small>
|- style="text-align:right;"
|'''1924'''&nbsp;||140,241,113&nbsp;||37,997,377&nbsp;||£13,917,942 <small>(£{{Formatprice|{{Inflation|UK|13917942|1924|{{inflation-year|UK}}|r=-4}}}} in {{inflation-year|UK}})</small>
|- style="text-align:right;"
|'''1934'''&nbsp;||&nbsp;110,813,041&nbsp;||&nbsp;40,685,597&nbsp;||&nbsp;£10,569,140 <small>(£{{Formatprice|{{Inflation|UK|10569140|1934|{{inflation-year|UK}}|r=-4}}}} in {{inflation-year|UK}})</small>
|-
|colspan=4 | <Small>Passenger numbers exclude season ticket journeys.</small><ref name=GWCentenaryB/>{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}}
|}
Early trains offered passengers a choice of [[First class travel|first-]] or second-class [[Passenger car (rail)|carriages]]. In 1840 this choice was extended: passengers could be conveyed by the slow [[goods train]]s in what became third-class. The [[Railway Regulation Act 1844]] made it a legal requirement that the GWR, along with all other British railways, had to serve each station with trains which included third-class accommodation at a [[fare]] of not more than one [[Penny (British pre-decimal coin)|penny]] per mile and a speed of at least {{convert|12|mph|abbr=on}}. By 1882, third-class carriages were attached to all trains except for the fastest [[Express train|expresses]]. Another parliamentary order meant that trains began to include smoking carriages from 1868.<ref name=GWCentenaryT>{{cite journal| title = From ordeal to luxury in railway travel| journal = Great Western Railway Magazine| volume = 47| issue = 9| pages = 505–507| publisher = Great Western Railway| year = 1935}}</ref>

Special "[[excursion]]" cheap-day [[train ticket|tickets]] were first issued in May 1849 and [[season ticket]]s in 1851. Until 1869 most revenue came from second-class passengers but the volume of third-class passengers grew to the extent that second-class facilities were withdrawn in 1912. The [[Cheap Trains Act 1883]] resulted in the provision of workmen's trains at special low fares at certain times of the day.<ref name=GWCentenaryB>{{cite journal| title = A brief review of the Company's hundred years of business|journal = Great Western Railway Magazine| volume = 47| issue = 9| pages = 495–499| publisher = Great Western Railway| year = 1935}}</ref>

The principal express services were often given nicknames by railwaymen but these names later appeared officially in timetables, on headboards carried on the locomotive, and on roofboards above the windows of the carriages. For instance, the late-morning ''[[Flying Dutchman (train)|Flying Dutchman]]'' express between London and Exeter was named after the winning horse of the [[Derby (horse race)|Derby]] and [[St. Leger Stakes|St Leger]] [[Horse racing|races]] in 1849. Although withdrawn at the end of 1867, the name was revived in 1869&nbsp;– following a request from the [[Bristol and Exeter Railway]]&nbsp;– and the train ran through to Plymouth. An afternoon express was instigated on the same route in June 1879 and became known as ''[[Zulu (train)|The Zulu]]''. A third West Country express was introduced in 1890, running to and from Penzance as ''[[Cornishman (GWR)|The Cornishman]]''. A new service, the ''[[Cornish Riviera Express]]'' ran between London and Penzance&nbsp;– non-stop to Plymouth&nbsp;– from 1 July 1904, although it ran only in the summer during 1904 and 1905 before becoming a permanent feature of the timetable in 1906.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Allen |first1=Cecil J. |title=Titled Trains of the Western |date=1974 |publisher=Ian Allan |isbn=0-7110-0513-3 |pages=36–51}}</ref>
[[File:GWR book Cheltenham Flyer 1932.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=A stylised image of the front of a steam locomotive, seen from low down and created with a subdued pallette which is mainly green and black but with red title and subtitle|The ''Cheltenham Flyer'' was a GWR 'book for boys of all ages'.]]
The ''[[Cheltenham Spa Express]]'' was the fastest train in the world when it was scheduled to cover the {{convert|77.25|mi|km|1}} between {{Stnlnk|Swindon}} and London at an average of {{Convert|71.3|mph|km/h}}.{{sfn|Chapman |1936|pages=121–122}} The train was nicknamed the 'Cheltenham Flyer' and featured in one of the GWR's 'Books for boys of all ages'. Other named trains included ''[[The Bristolian (train)|The Bristolian]]'', running between London and Bristol from 1935,<ref>{{cite book |last= Maggs |first= Colin |title= Rail Centres: Bristol  |year= 1981  |publisher= Ian Allan |location= Shepperton |isbn= 0-7110-1153-2 |page= 25 }}</ref> and the ''[[Torbay Express]]'', which ran between London and {{Stnlnk|Kingswear}}.<ref>{{cite book| last = Beck| first = Keith|author2=Copsey, John| title = The Great Western in South Devon| publisher = Wild Swan Publication| year = 1990| location = Didcot| isbn = 0-906867-90-8 | page=119}}</ref>

Many of these fast expresses included special coaches that could be detached as they passed through stations without stopping, a [[Conductor (transportation)|guard]] riding in the coach to uncouple it from the main train and bring it to a stop at the correct position. The first such "[[slip coach]]" was detached from the ''Flying Dutchman'' at {{Stnlnk|Bridgwater}} in 1869.{{sfn|MacDermot|1931|at=Chapter 13}} The company's first [[sleeping car]]s were operated between Paddington and Plymouth in 1877. Then on 1 October 1892 its first [[Corridor (rail vehicle)|corridor train]] ran from Paddington to Birkenhead, and the following year saw the first trains heated by steam that was passed through the train in a pipe from the locomotive. May 1896 saw the introduction of first-class [[restaurant car]]s and the service was extended to all classes in 1903. Sleeping cars for third-class passengers were available from 1928.<ref name= GWCentenaryT/>

Self-propelled "[[GWR steam railmotors|steam railmotors]]" were first used on 12 October 1903 between {{Stnlnk|Stonehouse}} and {{Stnlnk|Chalford}}; within five years 100 had been constructed. These trains had special retractable steps that could be used at stations with lower platforms than was usual in England.{{sfn|MacDermot|1931|at=Chapter 13}} The railmotors proved so successful on many routes that they had to be supplemented by trailer cars with driving controls, the first of which entered service at the end of 1904. From the following year a number of small locomotives were fitted so that they could work with these trailers, the combined sets becoming known as "[[GWR Autotrain|autotrains]]" and eventually replacing the steam rail motors.<ref name=Auto>{{cite book| last = Lewis| first = John| title = Great Western Auto Trailers, Part One| publisher = Wild Swan Publications| year = 1991| location = Didcot| isbn = 0-906867-99-1}}</ref> [[GWR railcars|Diesel railcars]] were introduced in 1934. Some railcars were fully streamlined, some had buffet counters for long-distance services, and others were purely for parcels services.<ref name=Railcars/>