Timetables may be of interest to a wide range of people not only interested in the history of the Midland and railways in general; they contain much information for local historians from a time when the railway was not only the main but the only means of transport for the places which they served, certainly for more remote destinations.

Information from the company’s timetables was also included in commercially published “Bradshaw’s” or ABCs covering the whole country, or in local publications for larger cities and towns. When the Midland was founded in 1844, long before the days of internet, and even before the invention of telephones, which first began to be used publicly during the 1880s, the only immediate communication of news about train services changes and delays was the telegraph, a system for sending simple messages in a form of code, so local Station Masters played an important role in providing timetable information.

WTTs were essential to the company’s staff, train drivers and guards, signalmen, level crossing keepers and station staff, to control the running of trains away from the public eye. They included the times at which trains passed intermediate points such as signal boxes, even if trains did not stop. The WTT times varied slightly from those in the PTTs, to ensure that passengers were on board before the actual departure times in the WTT, and to allow for minor delays which were inevitable and common, without late arrival at the destination. WTTs were also the main timetables for freight trains, although delays to these trains were even more common, as passengers generally had priority, apart from perishable items such as milk, meat, fish and vegetables.

Apart from the documents already mentioned, there were many internal company documents dealing with operating arrangements, notably marshalling documents to assist staff at stations, sheds and yards in putting the necessary collection of carriages and wagons, sometimes both together on minor branch and other local lines. The Society holds a selection of copies. However freight trains were mostly put together according to what was needed and available at the time, while even passenger trains could have vehicles such as private saloons or extra carriages added according to demand. In the light of long experience with delays to trains, the Midland also introduced an innovative Train Control System in the early 20th century, and documents associated with it also form part of the Society’s collection.