The LNER Encyclopedia

Hello,

I'm a student, writing a dissertation about the board game Monopoly, and I'm stuck.

I'm trying to find out why the British/London board has four stations from the one company, (not one station each, from the four London-serving companies). Reference books, etc, only speculate on the L.N.E.R. making a deal with Waddingtons.

The four (L.N.E.R.) stations featured are; Kings Cross, Marylebone, Liverpool Street, and Fenchurch Street.

Does anyone know of a possible source of information?

Thanking you in advance for your help,

Matthew.

Matthew W wrote:Hello,

I'm a student, writing a dissertation about the board game Monopoly, and I'm stuck.

I'm trying to find out why the British/London board has four stations from the one company, (not one station each, from the four London-serving companies). Reference books, etc, only speculate on the L.N.E.R. making a deal with Waddingtons.

The four (L.N.E.R.) stations featured are; Kings Cross, Marylebone, Liverpool Street, and Fenchurch Street.

Does anyone know of a possible source of information?

Thanking you in advance for your help,

Matthew.

Hi Matthew,

I had heard the story that the person deciding the place names for the game asked his secretary for the names of 4 London termini. As the lady in question was related to an employee of the LNER, she came up with 4 LNER stations. Sorry that I can't vouch for the accuracy of that story.

I guess it would also be hard to hold a monopoly of stations in the game if they were owned by 4 different companies.

Cheers,


Murray

The previous reply is part of the story. I think the rest is that Waddingtons Ltd. who were licenced to produce the UK version of the Monopoly game were based in Leeds. When the company's director and secretary came up to London to discuss the matter they arrived at an LNER station (Kings Cross) and that was how the choice was made.

Thanks for the replies so far,

If you can think of any more information, (or a citable source for that already given), please post it.

Thanks,

Matthew.

Matthew

Victor Watson has just published a partial history of Waddingtons "The Waddingtons Story" www.jeremymillspublishing.co.uk ISBN 978-1-906600-36-5. If you have not got a copy I think you will find it a very useful source.

He refers to a 1973 History of Waddingtons by Douglas Brearley (a Waddingtons employee) and Phil Orbanes - " Monopoly: The World's Most Famous Game and How it Got That Way". Mr Watson states that the involvement of Waddingtons is as chronicled in these two books. In brief, Victor Watson Senior, (the grandfather of the present Victor Watson), acquired the rights to Monopoly from Parker Bros. He and his secretary went to London and took a taxi ride from where they allocated names of streets. No specific mention of the actual sites apart from the Angel Islington which is where they ended up having tea in a Lyons tea shop

As a Leeds based company they will have used the LNER service to London so perhaps they were more familiar with that company. It is highly probable that they would have had commercial and/or social contact with members of the LNER board so that might have also been a factor

I might be able to get a more specific answer from Mr Watson but it might be after the New Year.

Good luck with the dissertation.

OR....................


Were there any other Railway companies at the time?????





Stands back for deluge of Late Moldy and Slow, Great Way Round and Sometimes Runs flak.

North Briton wrote:As a Leeds based company they will have used the LNER service to London

Why? they could have used the Midland.

Bill Bedford wrote:

North Briton wrote:As a Leeds based company they will have used the LNER service to London

Why? they could have used the Midland.

Yes, but surely the main passenger flow was into Kings X by the 1930s - so what's that got do do with the price of fish? lol

hq1hitchin wrote:

Bill Bedford wrote:Yes, but surely the main passenger flow was into Kings X by the 1930s

Was it? I haven't heard that the LMS stopped running Leeds and Bradford expresses, or that the stopped the Scots expresses over the Settle and Carlisle.

Bill Bedford wrote:

hq1hitchin wrote:

Bill Bedford wrote:Yes, but surely the main passenger flow was into Kings X by the 1930s

Was it? I haven't heard that the LMS stopped running Leeds and Bradford expresses, or that the stopped the Scots expresses over the Settle and Carlisle.

Slightly more trains into KX per day - and Pullman services to boot for the benefit of company directors and other toffs ?