Railway Grotesque is a unique display typeface inspired by late 1800s, early 1900s British railway signage.

The rudimentary block lettering that Railway Grotesque is based on predates and informed the early classic sans-serif typefaces that appeared in the early 1900s like Johnston Sans, which is still used extensively on the London Underground. However, rather than being a specified typeface, this lettering was more of a 'general style' that was produced by engineers and not designed by typeface designers and as a result lacked consistency, subtlety, and refinement. There are at least 3 variations on this 'block' style - a standard version, an extended version with wider proportions, and a more condensed version - all of which contain plenty of interesting 'alternate letterforms'. Another distinctive feature of this lettering is that almost all the characters share the same exact width and there is absolutely no attempt at any optical adjustment. 

Despite the crude design and technical flaws, this lettering has a wonderful retro quality to it that, in my opinion, was well worth reviving. I started designing a typeface based on this distinctive lettering when I was at university in 2012 and since then I’ve been tweaking and refining the design into Railway Grotesque. Although, the final design isn't a historically accurate revival I do feel it captures the spirit of the lettering and packages it is a much more practical, usable display typeface.

Often cast in metal, painted white, and set onto black wooden display boards, this lettering provided a very simple yet striking visual language. And amazingly, some of the signage is still used today on modern railway platforms including Moor Steet Station in Birmingham (shown above). After falling into a derelict state Moor Street Station was saved by volunteers and completely refurbished, preserving its 1930s aesthetic which of course included its signage. Another great example is Hebden Bridge Station in Yorkshire, but this old signage can be spotted all over the country.

Railway Grotesque, photos, and all mockups produced by Jonathan Martin, 2021.

Railway Grotesque contains a complete uppercase A-Z character set with several additional alternate characters. The font also contains numbers and basic punctuation but does to include an extended character set. The Arrows and Extras are included in the package as a separate Illustrator file.

I license Railway Grotesque for personal and one-off commercial use and for all inquiries email me directly or drop me a message.

Please feel free to get in touch for more information on Railway Grotesque.

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