Great Western Coffee Shop

I'm curious about the history of the General name. Not just in Reading but everywhere.

How did it originate? Was it only used by GWR (and subsequent ex-GWR stations)? What was its meaning? Did it signify one station for goods and passengers as opposed to separate facilities? Or was it an equivalent of Central? When was it first and last used? Did it actually add any specific information to the place name?

Edit by Grahame, 18.8.2020 - This excellent question took on a life of its own and has been split out from "Reading Station Improvements" ((here)) (http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=6405.0)

The suffix "General" was used by the GWR and later the Western Region of British Railways to differentiate their main stations from others in the area, which belonged to other companies.

Some "General" stations such as Shrewsbury General and Chester General lost the suffix and were simply renamed "Shrewsbury" and "Chester" respectively, others, like Cardiff General, were re-dubbed as "Central" stations.

Wrexham General is now the only official "General" station on the National Rail Network - Because of the continued presence of two stations serving Wrexham, the other being titled Wrexham Central, the "General" suffix was retained.

It still lives on at Wrexham General.

I remember the battery sergeant major in "it aint half hot, Mum" (wonderful series now banned by the liberal elite), referring to "Paddington General"

Was it ever?

OTC

I dont think the railway station was ever called Paddington General, but a hospital in Harrow Road went by that name between 1954 and 1968, having opened as the Paddington Infirmary in 1886, and finally closing as St Mary's Hospital (Harrow Road) in 1986.

Although some stations were renamed "Central" and others had their "General" removed, there is a subtle difference (to me, anyway).  "Central" is geographically located at the heart of the city, but "General" is travel-wise situated at the heart, being the main station especially for intercity type traffic.

"General" remains only at Wrexham - and I suspect remains there because there's no alternative (that I can see - but then I lack imagination and local knowledge).

With a thinning out of different company's stations since pre-1948 GWR days, there are now some cities where one station in particular is the main one ("Main" is used in Germany, in places like Frankfurt) and the term "General" could be correctly applied, even though it is out of fashion.   I'm thinking Cardiff, Bristol, Exeter, Liverpool, and in each of those cases knowledgable readers here will instantly know which station I am thinking of.  Manchester and Edinburgh are other possible candidates.  For various reasons, London, Glasgow, Leeds and Plymouth, Stourbridge and Marple are not.

In the case of Frankfurt is more because it is on the River Main? Or would it have to be Frankfurt am Main?

In the case of Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof, the affix "Main" comes from the city's full name, Frankfurt am Main, or Frankfurt on the Main in English.

Hauptbahnhof means main or central station in English.

I have had connections with Shrewsbury from Day 1 of my life and have never heard described as General before.   Chester, I think, lost the title when Chester (Northgate) ex GC closed.     Wrexham General would probably have origins when Exchange was there and still is.     Exchange was adjacent (GC) to General but the two became merged into one 

Fair enough - I stand educated. Thank you.

A Google search for "Shrewsbury General Station" comes up with just 203 matches ... most of which are very much historic in nature.  Stations at Shrewsbury Abbey and Shrewsbury West were very minor indeed, and closed early ... so unless you were very old indeed, it would have already been just "Shrewsbury".

Here is a 1947 map of railways in the area showing Shrewsbury General:

(http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/s/shrewsbury_s_c/wolverhampton_ll.to_gobowen_1947.map.gif)

Thanks to everyone for the informative and interesting answers and to grahame for the thread-creation.

The addition of 'Main' is probably there to distinguish it from Frankfurt am Oder in Brandenburg state (former East Germany) which also has a railway station.

There was a Perth General, gateway to the Highlands and all that...a very busy station in its day. But there was no other significant station in Perth. OK Princes st on the Dundee line, just a quicker way into that part of the City.

I think it's actually Frankfurt an der Oder. Rivers in German are generally feminine except for the Rhine and the Main, which are masculine.

Meanwhile, given that the GWR seem to have used "General" as part of their brand, why didn't they have Birmingham General, Bristol General and Plymouth General?

I have dug out a link from Wiki regarding Shrewsbury General and which was before my time as you suggest.    :-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shropshire_and_Montgomeryshire_Railway

The original intention was to construct a line beyond Shrewsbury to the Potteries but this never came to anything and as a result of this the line became known as "The Potts".    In my time it was used as a Military Line to and from Nesscliffe Camp with Exchange Sidings constructed at Hookagate to exchange military traffic between the S & M and the national network.   Hookagate is situated a few miles out of Shrewsbury in the direction of Welshpool.    Abbey Foregate Station as it was known by then later became an oil terminal with a connection constructed for access to the former Severn Valley Railway close to Sutton Bridge Junction.

Did Weston Super Mare have a General suffix when Locking Road was open?

(I can't remember for certain but there is a quiet bell ringing in my head)

On the other hand, I seem to remember from history books that prior to Nationalisation Bridgwater had two stations simply called Bridgwater

This is completely off topic but it deserves a mention.

It is a fact of life that humour, the subject of humour, and indeed what is or isn't acceptable, changes over the generations.

For example, you will find a clip of the music hall comedian Gus Elen on Youtube doing his song "It's a great big shame" towards then end of his life in 1931. The song is about a henpecked friend of his and what he would do if he was married to the woman in question. In the break between the chorus and the next verse he circles the stage  waving a hammer. If a comedian or indeed anybody else did that on stage today they would probably be nicked for inciting violence towards women.

The Black & White Minstrel Show (whatever you happened to think of the content) was taken off air because the male cast were white actors who were blaced up. In "It Ain't Half Hot Mum" white actor Muchael Bates is blacked up as an Asian, and a racist one at that.

"Love Thy Neighbour" made fun of racism.

It was commomplace to poke fun of homosexuals, and It Aint Half Hot Mum has a bit of that as well.

The list is a long one.

Whilst I agree that people are perhaps preceived to be more thin-skinned today than they were 50 years ago, it has to be borne in mind that those who have or had that fun poked at them might have not thought too highly about it.

And that is not liberal elitism; that is to accept the way things have changed over the years.

The past is another country. They do things differently there...

Yes, Weston did have a General station and the S&D Bridgwater Station was named Bridgwater North but I don't know if this was the case prior to nationalisation.

The comment that I hadn't thought about but that now resonates most strongly is that General does sound like a hospital.

Well - given the safety record of railways in the 19th century...