13. Ultimatics and Ultimates

7th August 2004

Many clerks consider Ulimatics to be the fastest tickets ever in terms of issue speed. They were first introduced in 1955 and eventually found their way to all the BR Regions, especially in urban and PTE areas. On the Southern Region they tended to be used along side NCR 21 machines with the Ultimatics being used for the most commonly issued tickets. Ultimatics lasted until the introduction of APTIS in the late 1980s. Ultimates are similar, but more often associated with the bus industry. They are usually of a vertical format and are fed by a roll of tickets rather than a fan-fold pack. They also lack the perforations between each ticket so have to be torn off, leaving a rougher edge than found on an Ultimatic.

A BR Ultimate from the Ryde Pier Tramway, dated 1963.	An Ultimate from the London Underground.	An Ultimate excess ticket from the Hull-New Holland ferry service.	An Ultimate parking ticket from Bristol Temple Meads.
Worcester Park to London cheap return Ultimatic.	Worcester Park to London return ticket.	Single Ultimatics are single part tickets.	A slightly older type of Ultimatic single.
An off peak return, Forest Hill to London (SR).	A Waterloo & City Line issue.	A Southern Region example from 1958.	London to Petts Wood or Sidcup, single.
A return from Streatham Common to London.	An off peak child return from Gipsy Hill to East or West Croydon.	A child return from Winchester to London.	A single from Falmer to London Road Brighton.
A pre-decimal Southern Region single.	This Southern Region single shows an issue date of 1979 but carries a pre-decimal fare.	Teignmouth to Exeter return - a Western Region Ultimatic.	A Western Region day return from 1984.
A Scottish Region example from the 1970s.	Edinburgh - Glasgow single from 1975.	An Eastern Region ticket for the Hull-New Holland railway ferry (unissued).	An Eastern Region single from Enfield Chase.
A pre-decimal Eastern Region single from 1969.	A Luton - St Pancras Midland Region Single.	A 1968 Beeston to Nottingham cheap single.	A Midland Region single with gthe fare amended by hand.
A Saver return from Sandwell & Dudley to London (unissued).	An unissued single from the West Midlands to London.	A Manchester area example from 1982.	A Liverpool area example from 1981.
A Merseyrail single from 1982.	A severed half of a Marylebone to Richmond day return from 1966.	Severed half London to East Croydon, 1968.	A 1962 severed half from the Liverpool area.
A severed half Midland Region Ultimatic from the Lancaster area.	Severed half from a Putney to Bank issue.	Widnes to Warrington severed half, hand stamped with the date in 1983.	Return half of a Richmond to any LT station return.
A selection of various BR Ultimatics from the Southern Region.	A selection of Ultimatics from the Ffestiniog Railway, dating from the early 1980s.	The rear of a BTC ultimatic.	The rear of an early BRB Ultimatic.
The rear of a later BRB Ultimatic.	An Ultimatic issuing machine, preserved at the NRM York. 4th July 2002.