The Flickr Northbritishhotel Image Generatr

Towering over the east end of Princes Street, the Balmoral Hotel stands as Edinburgh’s grandest witness to the golden age of steam. Opened in 1902 as The North British Station Hotel, it was built by the North British Railway Company to serve Waverley Station — the vast rail hub that lies just below. Its 190-foot clock tower, famously set three minutes fast to help passengers catch their trains, became a symbol of punctuality, prestige, and a very Scottish kind of luxury.

Designed by architect W. Hamilton Beattie, the hotel wasn’t just a place to rest — it was a statement: that Edinburgh could match the opulence of London’s great terminus hotels. With an underground passage linking it directly to Waverley, guests could glide from train carriage to velvet suite without ever facing the elements. Today, the trains still pull in below and the hotel, rebranded as The Balmoral in the 1980s, continues to offer five-star service to travellers of a more modern persuasion.
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Dominant l’extrémité est de Princes Street, l’hôtel Balmoral incarne le faste d’une époque où voyager en train relevait de l’art de vivre. Inauguré en 1902 sous le nom de North British Station Hotel, il fut conçu par la North British Railway Company pour servir directement la gare de Waverley, située juste en contrebas. Sa tour horloge de 58 mètres, volontairement réglée trois minutes en avance, est devenue une légende à elle seule — un clin d’œil à la ponctualité britannique, version écossaise.

Imaginé par l’architecte W. Hamilton Beattie, l’hôtel offrait une transition fluide entre les wagons de luxe et les salons lambrissés, grâce à un passage souterrain reliant directement la gare à la réception. Aujourd’hui encore, les trains arrivent à ses pieds, et sous le nom du Balmoral depuis les années 1980, l’hôtel perpétue l’élégance du voyage… version cinq étoiles.

The British Transport Hotels and Catering's many menu and tariff cards were, for many years, exemplary in terms of design probably under the influence of the British Transport Commission's publicity manager Christian Barman. For many years they favoured a strictly typographic approach, using Monotype ornaments, but increasingly into the 1960s a number of artists and designers were commissioned to produce highly individual works for specific hotels and restaurants.

This, from 20 August 1960 thanks to the survival of the insert daily menu, is a relatively early example of the artist led approach and is also, unusually, printed on glossy card. Issued for the Grill Room restaurant at the famous North British Hotel that sits at the East End of Princes Street in Edinburgh and that towers over Waverley Station, it is the work of Imre Reiner.

Reiner (1900–1987) was a multi-talented Hungarian- Swiss typographer, architect, graphic designer, painter, illustrator, calligrapher, letterer, typographic historian, and type designer. This cover is very typical of his work of the period; heavily ornamented and relatively abstract in style. It must have been a bold move for the BTC to commission such an artist. The menu, with three-fold panels, shows the range of food available.

The British Transport Hotels and Catering's many menu and tariff cards were, for many years, exemplary in terms of design probably under the influence of the British Transport Commission's publicity manager Christian Barman. For many years they favoured a strictly typographic approach, using Monotype ornaments, but increasingly into the 1960s a number of artists and designers were commissioned to produce highly individual works for specific hotels and restaurants.

This, from 20 August 1960 thanks to the survival of the insert daily menu, is a relatively early example of the artist led approach and is also, unusually, printed on glossy card. Issued for the Grill Room restaurant at the famous North British Hotel that sits at the East End of Princes Street in Edinburgh and that towers over Waverley Station, it is the work of Imre Reiner.

Reiner (1900–1987) was a multi-talented Hungarian- Swiss typographer, architect, graphic designer, painter, illustrator, calligrapher, letterer, typographic historian, and type designer. This cover is very typical of his work of the period; heavily ornamented and relatively abstract in style. It must have been a bold move for the BTC to commission such an artist. The menu, with three-fold panels, shows the range of food available.

The British Transport Hotels and Catering's many menu and tariff cards were, for many years, exemplary in terms of design probably under the influence of the British Transport Commission's publicity manager Christian Barman. For many years they favoured a strictly typographic approach, using Monotype ornaments, but increasingly into the 1960s a number of artists and designers were commissioned to produce highly individual works for specific hotels and restaurants.

This, from 20 August 1960 thanks to the survival of the insert daily menu, is a relatively early example of the artist led approach and is also, unusually, printed on glossy card. Issued for the Grill Room restaurant at the famous North British Hotel that sits at the East End of Princes Street in Edinburgh and that towers over Waverley Station, it is the work of Imre Reiner.

Reiner (1900–1987) was a multi-talented Hungarian- Swiss typographer, architect, graphic designer, painter, illustrator, calligrapher, letterer, typographic historian, and type designer. This cover is very typical of his work of the period; heavily ornamented and relatively abstract in style. It must have been a bold move for the BTC to commission such an artist. The menu, with three-fold panels, shows the range of food available.

The British Transport Hotels and Catering's many menu and tariff cards were, for many years, exemplary in terms of design probably under the influence of the British Transport Commission's publicity manager Christian Barman. For many years they favoured a strictly typographic approach, using Monotype ornaments, but increasingly into the 1960s a number of artists and designers were commissioned to produce highly individual works for specific hotels and restaurants.

This, from 20 August 1960 thanks to the survival of the insert daily menu, is a relatively early example of the artist led approach and is also, unusually, printed on glossy card. Issued for the Grill Room restaurant at the famous North British Hotel that sits at the East End of Princes Street in Edinburgh and that towers over Waverley Station, it is the work of Imre Reiner.

Reiner (1900–1987) was a multi-talented Hungarian- Swiss typographer, architect, graphic designer, painter, illustrator, calligrapher, letterer, typographic historian, and type designer. This cover is very typical of his work of the period; heavily ornamented and relatively abstract in style. It must have been a bold move for the BTC to commission such an artist. The menu, with three-fold panels, shows the range of food available.

The British Transport Hotels and Catering's many menu and tariff cards were, for many years, exemplary in terms of design probably under the influence of the British Transport Commission's publicity manager Christian Barman. For many years they favoured a strictly typographic approach, using Monotype ornaments, but increasingly into the 1960s a number of artists and designers were commissioned to produce highly individual works for specific hotels and restaurants.

This, from 20 August 1960 thanks to the survival of the insert daily menu, is a relatively early example of the artist led approach and is also, unusually, printed on glossy card. Issued for the Grill Room restaurant at the famous North British Hotel that sits at the East End of Princes Street in Edinburgh and that towers over Waverley Station, it is the work of Imre Reiner.

Reiner (1900–1987) was a multi-talented Hungarian- Swiss typographer, architect, graphic designer, painter, illustrator, calligrapher, letterer, typographic historian, and type designer. This cover is very typical of his work of the period; heavily ornamented and relatively abstract in style. It must have been a bold move for the BTC to commission such an artist. The menu, with three-fold panels, shows the range of food available.

One from Thursday’s shoot of the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh - a bit too optimistic with a hand-held exposure (12 seconds!). Still, it has a certain beauty, I might give it a pretentious title and try to sell it as fine art 😄📷
#edinburgh_snapshots #edinburghcity #edinburghphotographer #edinburghphotography #balmoralhotel #balmoralhoteledinburgh #northbritishrailway #northbritishhotel #edinburghbynight #nightphotography #roccofortehotels #longexposure #longexposure_shots

A busy evening on Princes Street, Edinburgh featuring the elegant Balmoral Hotel. Built by the North British Railway Company in 1902 and for many years called the North British Hotel, one of the great railway hotels. #Edinburgh #edinburgh_snapshots #edinburghcity #edinburghphotographer #edinburghphotography #balmoralhotel #balmoralhoteledinburgh #northbritishrailway #northbritishhotel #edinburghbynight #nightphotography #roccofortehotels

The elegant Balmoral Hotel, Princes Street, Edinburgh. Built by the North British Railway Company in 1902 and for@many years called the North British Hotel. In the foreground, a statue of the Duke of Wellington on his horse, but unlike the Glasgow version, without a traffic cone on his head.😀 #Edinburgh #edinburgh_snapshots #edinburghcity #edinburghphotographer #edinburghphotography #balmoralhotel #balmoralhoteledinburgh #northbritishrailway #northbritishhotel #dukeofwellington #dukeofwellingtonstatue #statue #statues #statuesofinstagram #edinburghstatues #edinburghbynight #nightphotography #roccofortehotels

A very targetted approach to marketing the East Coast Route - today's East Coast Main LIne - to a North American market; the Stars & Stripes draped with the Union Flag and the American eagle. The tourist leaflet was issued c.1910 and describes the main line express and sleeper car services that were jointly run by the three railway companies whose lines made up the East Coast route. There is also a brief description of the main 'sights' to be seen on the Great Northern, the North Eastern and the North British Railways separate sections of the line.

This fold of three gives details of the principal restaurant car expresses, the sleeper trains and the various railway owned hotels on route.

Scanned Neg set 616 - August 1997

Scanned Neg set 616 - August 1997

Scanned Neg set 616 - August 1997

Scanned Neg set 616 - August 1997

Scanned Neg set 616 - August 1997

Another in the series of spendid menu cards issued by the state owned British Transport Hotels and Catering Services, this for the Caravelle Restaurant in the North British Hotel, adjacent to Edinburgh's Waverley station. At the time the city boasted two BTC hotels, one at either end of Princes St. The other, the Caledonian, survived closure of its associated station in the late 1960s; both hotels survive in private ownership.

Unusually no artist is given for this menu card although it is quite possibly by Danuta Laskowska and it was most likely printed at the Curwen Press in London.

Scanned Neg Set 294 - April 1993

scanned negative
Endenburg

Scanned Neg set 185. Higher definition polished rescans are available

Scanned Neg Set 112. Higher definition rescans are available.