Grand National Railway Co?

[pillarboxred]

Was this a real company? I have a butter dish with a Grand National Railway Co badge which looks vintage but I am wondering whether it is a bogus "brand" like my "Georgraphical Norway Expedition Team Norway Since 1953"  jacket which was designed in Spain and made in China and has no connection that I can find with Norway (the company was not founded in 1953, there was no expedition, etc. etc) and nowhere retails at the RRP.

[sonomabarn67]

I see this is your first time posting here. #1 rule by default is to add photos of the item in question. This will help the others here help you.

[argon38]

Plenty of items out there with a "Grand National Railway" logo:

https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=aMthXPvvCYuugwecga2gBw&q=%22grand+national+railway+co.%22...

In fact there are at least three different logos!

https://www.worthpoint.com/inventory/search?query=%22grand+national+railway%22

One seller writes: "I am told it probably dates back to the 1920's when Grand Trunk and Canadian National merged and their dinnerware was stamped 'Grand National' for a few years":

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Silver-Plated-Grand-National-Railway-Company-CO-Cocktail-Shaker-R...

I don't know whether this explanation is reliable or not, and I wouldn't care to rely on it myself without supporting evidence. The fact that three different logo designs exist compounds the mystery.

[argon38]

I think this does look like a genuine old railroad item:

https://www.ebay.fr/itm/Pot-A-Cafe-en-Laiton-Argente-de-la-compagnie-ferroviaire-Grand-National-Rail...

[sonomabarn67]

I'm not seeing anything convincing me that these are antique items which supports me asking for photos to be posted. I see some age on some but age is not the only factor to take into consideration. If they were from the 60's they would still show age.

I can see why there are questions raised to this being a real company. I see only 4 pages on google and and most are just plated stuff for sale; no baggage decals, no timetables, letterheads etc, that kind of stuff. I don't see a real company history emerging. Maybe this is a railroad equivalent of factory paintings.

[argon38]

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@sonomabarn67 wrote:

Maybe this is a railroad equivalent of factory paintings.

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Possibly... I'm in two minds about it. I wouldn't like to put money on it either way.

[sonomabarn67]

Did you come across any other supporting evidence? All I found were the four pages on google. I wonder if there was a retailer like Pier 1 or similar involved...

[argon38]

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@sonomabarn67 wrote:
Did you come across any other supporting evidence? All I found were the four pages on google. I wonder if there was a retailer like Pier 1 or similar involved...

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No, that's all I could find. Wikipedia confirms the fact of the 1920s merger, but that's all.