Great Western Railway (G.W.R.) Inkwell

This cylindrical inkwell with a ribbed lid and smooth sides is marked G.W.R. (Great Western Railway). It is made of plastic-like substance (possibly Bakelite).

The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838 with the initial route completed between London and Bristol in 1841.

The GWR was known by various nicknames, including “God’s Wonderful Railway” and the “Great Way Round.” It was famed as the “Holiday Line,” taking passengers to resorts in the West Country and the far southwest of England.

The GWR retained its identity through the Railways Act of 1921, which amalgamated it with other independent railways within its territory. It was finally merged into British Railways’ Western Region at the end of 1947.