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Books > Sport & Leisure > Transport: general interest > Trains & railways: general interest
In the heroic days of rail travel, you could dine on kippers and
champagne aboard the Brighton Belle; smoke a post-prandial cigar as
the Golden Arrow closed in on Paris, or be shaved by the Flying
Scotsman's on-board barber. Everyone from schoolboys to socialites
knew of these glamorous 'named trains' and aspired to ride aboard
them. In Belles and Whistles, Andrew Martin recreates these famous
train journeys by travelling aboard their nearest modern day
equivalents. Sometimes their names have survived, even if only as a
footnote on a timetable leaflet, but what has usually - if not
always - disappeared is the extravagance and luxury. As Martin
explains how we got from there to here, evocations of the Golden
Age contrast with the starker modern reality: from monogrammed
cutlery to stirring sticks, from silence on trains to tannoy
announcements, from compartments to airline seating. For those who
wonder whatever happened to porters, dining cars, mellow lighting,
timetables, luggage in advance, trunk murders, the answers are all
here. Martin's five journeys add up to an idiosyncratic history of
Britain's railways, combining humour, historical anecdote and
reportage from the present and romantic evocations of the past.
Bristol is one of the best cities in the world for exploring on
foot and the Severn Beach Line - once hailed as one of Britain's
most scenic railways - is the gateway to some of its finest sights.
The walks in this guide range from short strolls exploring Georgian
crescents and city parks to all-day excursions through ancient
woodlands, eighteenth-century estates and spectacular river gorges.
Among the places visited are St Anne's Woods, Arno's Vale, the
Floating Harbour, Royate Hill, the Frome Valley, St Paul's,
Kingsdown, Montpelier, Redland and Cotham, St Werburgh's, Purdown,
Stoke Park, Frenchay, Oldbury Court, Westbury on Trym, Clifton and
Hotwells, Leigh Woods, Coombe Dingle, Blaise Castle, Kingsweston,
Bishop's Knoll, Pill and Paradise Bottom, Patchway and the Three
Brooks, and Ashton Court, while the final walk heads from Severn
Beach over the Severn Bridge to the Wales Coast Path. With a brief
history of the Severn Beach Line and a description of a journey
along it, this book is an indispensable companion not only for
anyone lucky enough to live near the line, but also for anyone who
can catch a train to Bristol and explore it from there.
Japan is steeped in legend and myth, perhaps the greatest of which
is the popular misconception that the country is simply too
expensive to visit. The truth is that flights to Japan are cheaper
than they've ever been, accommodation can be great value, while the
warm hospitality which awaits every visitor costs nothing at all.
The real secret to travelling around the country on a budget,
however, is the Japan Rail Pass. Use this comprehensive guide in
conjunction with a rail pass to get the most out of a trip to
Japan. * Practical information - planning your trip; when to go;
suggested itineraries; what to take; festivals and events. * City
guides and maps - where to stay, where to eat, what to see in 30
towns and cities; historical and cultural background. *
Kilometre-by-kilometre route guides - covering train journeys from
the coast into the mountains, from temple retreat to sprawling
metropolis and from sulphurous volcano to windswept desert; 33
route maps. * Japan Rail service schedules - Bullet trains and main
routes in this guide. * Customs, etiquette, Japanese words and
phrases - with kanji- With kanji/hiragana/katakana for all place
name text - readers can point to the text when asking Japanese
speakers for directions. * Extended Highlights - extra colour
sections make this book even more user-friendly and attractive.
What's new in this fully-updated 5th edition? * Greater coverage of
Tokyo with additional mapping following post-Olympic interest in
the capital and the country * More hot-spring resorts added
(including Kinosaki, Kinugawa and Nyuto) * More information about
areas off the beaten track including the wood-carving town of
Inami, Yanagawa where you can ride in a 'gondola' along its canals,
Tomioka Silk Mill (where silk production was first mechanised),
Okunoshima island (notorious for its WWII poison gas factory) * New
Style Trailblazer guide with twin-colour layout and restyled maps *
Expanded colour section with 'Best' lists to help plan a trip *
Kanji and katakana are now included for all place names * Fully
updated post Covid outbreak.
This title features key facts and figures spanning over 150 years
of British railway history, from the early 1800s to the end of the
golden era of steam in the 20th century. It offers technical
specification tables for each class, including builder's name,
location and date, weight, driving wheel diameter, boiler pressure,
cylinders, valve gear, coal capacity, water capacity and tractive
effort. It features all the classic British steam locomotives,
including the 'Iron Duke' class, the D class, the 'Royal Scot'
class, the Q1 class, and many more. It is divided into sections
covering the four main eras: 1800-1885; 1885-1920; 1920-1940; and
1940-1960. It includes a glossary of key railway terms. Britain was
the pioneering force behind the birth of the steam locomotive. By
1829, George Stephenson and his son Robert had developed a fast,
revolutionary and light-weight steam engine: Rocket. This superbly
illustrated book celebrates the British steam locomotive legacy.
From the streamlined 'flyers' of the 1930s to freight workhorses
and dock tanks, the book profiles the variety of steam locomotives
that Britain has produced. With over 200 photographs covering 85
classes, as well as detailed information on each period and a
comprehensive glossary, the book covers the story of the first,
finest and fastest locomotives ever to run on rails.
Why is the Victoria Line so hot? What is an Electrical Multiple
Unit? Is it really possible to ride from King's Cross to King's
Cross on the Circle line? The London Underground is the oldest,
most sprawling and illogical metropolitan transport system in the
world, the result of a series of botch-jobs and improvisations.Yet
it transports over one billion passengers every year - and this
figure is rising. It is iconic, recognised the world over, and
loved and despised by Londoners in equal measure. Blending
reportage, humour and personal encounters, Andrew Martin embarks on
a wonderfully engaging social history of London's underground
railway system (which despite its name, is in fact fifty-five per
cent overground). Underground, Overground is a highly enjoyable,
witty and informative history of everything you need to know about
the Tube.
Thomas is going on holiday! Join the little blue engine as he
travels around the country visiting favourite holiday destinations
in this delightful new picture book. Join Thomas as he puffs up
Snowdon, zooms past Blackpool Tower, takes in the sights in London,
and marvels at the seaside in Brighton! Thomas is on the trip of a
lifetime and is meeting lots of new friends along the way. Enjoy
the simple story and beautiful illustrations in this brand new
picture book. Thomas has been teaching children lessons about life
and friendship for over 75 years. He ranks alongside other beloved
characters such as Paddington Bear, Winnie-the-Pooh and Peter
Rabbit as an essential part of our literary heritage.
What was it like to travel on the railroad in the 19th century? Did
19th century English railroad travelers have a remarkably different
experience from their American counterparts? How safe was railroad
traveling in the 19th century? To what extent was the railroad
passenger traveling experience in England and America shaped by the
respective social structure, culture, and value systems of each
nation? These are some of the questions addressed in this book.
But, more generally, the purpose of this book is to "frame" the
19th century railroad passenger traveling experience, in England
and America, with reference to social structure, culture, and
ideology, and from a comparative standpoint. This book engenders a
unique approach to 19th century English and American railroad
travel, not the least because of the comparative framework I work
within, and the underlying sociological perspective. The book ought
to appeal to anybody interested in 19th century English and
American railroad history, and especially those interested in the
passenger traveling experience. But even those with an abiding
interest in the administration and operation of 19th century
English and American railroads, their constituent technologies, and
how the railroad fitted into the broader industrial "landscape" in
the 19th century, will find this a valuable resource.
There are currently 272 London Underground, 113 Overground and 45
Docklands Light Railway stations. Luke Agbaimoni has been slowly
attempting to capture visual moments at each one. When we see a
symmetrical image, it soothes us. It feels as if a puzzle has been
completed in front of our eyes. In his first book, The Tube Mapper
Project: Capturing Moments on the London Underground, Luke
Agbaimoni captured themes such as light, reflections, tunnels and
escalators, and documented how the London Underground is part of
our identity, a network of shared experiences and visual memories.
This follow-up project sees Luke delve into his obsession with
symmetry, seeking out stunning and powerful examples across the
network in his quest to find beauty in the seemingly mundane.
London Underground Symmetry & Imperfections considers such
questions as what symmetry means and how to find it in your daily
commute, and also revels in the design of the newly opened
Elizabeth line.
'Great fun. Railway travel without leaving your armchair!' Chris
Tarrant A jam-packed puzzle and trivia book about Britain's iconic
railways. The Big British Railway Puzzle Book is a must-buy gift
book for puzzle book fanatics, train and travel enthusiasts,
history buffs, and the people up and down the country who love
their heritage and their regional identity! Featuring a treasure
trove of puzzles about railways and locomotives, using maps, old
routes and tracks, original posters and all things that delight
train lovers, the book also includes mind-boggling brainteasers,
navigational tests, word games, code-crackers, anagrams,
crosswords, mathematical conundrums and more. As well as having
over 100 mind-bending puzzles, the book also contains historical
facts and figures, trivia and introductions to each section
authored by Dr Thomas Spain, a research associate at the National
Railway Museum, about the history of the British Railways. From the
National Railway Museum in York!
First published in 1985, this Atlas uses over 50 specially drawn
maps to trace the rise and fall of the railways' fortunes, and is
supported by an interesting and authoritative text. Financial and
operating statistics are clearly presented in diagrammatic form and
provide a wealth of information rarely available to the student of
railway history. Freeman and Aldcroft provide the basis for a new
understanding of the way in which the railways transformed Britain
by the scale of their engineering works, by shrinking national
space and reorganising the layouts of urban areas. Maps show the
evolution of early wagon routes into the first railway routes, the
frenetic activity of the 'Railway Mania' years, and the
consolidation of these lines into a national network. This exciting
presentation of railway development will interest the enthusiast as
well as the more general student of British transport history.
Featuring many detailed drawings, this history of military trains
and railways from 1853 through 1953 describes how the railroad
transformed the nature of warfare. Transport and logistics are
discussed for armored trains, rail-borne artillery and armored
combat vehicles, medical evacuation trains and draisines (light
auxiliary vehicles such as handcars). The railroad's role in
establishing European colonial empires in Asia and Africa is
examined. Conflicts covered include the Boer Wars, the American
Civil War, the Austro-Prussian War, the Franco-Prussian War, the
Russo-Turkish War, World War I, the Finnish Civil War, the Spanish
Civil War, World War II and the French Indochina War.
Originally published in 1983, this volume examines one of the most
long-standing major commercial water-arteries of Western and
Central Europe: The Rhine. Since the mid 20th Century its
importance has been given new stimulus by the intensified mobility
of economic circulation generated by the EU – forming as it does
a common axis to that organisation’s original six members. The
Rhine is one of the world’s busiest rivers and therefore provides
an excellent case study in the development of inland waterway
transport, not only because of its complex physical nature, but
also because of the diversity of economic, social and political
patterns along its course.
Trope Publishing Company's new Mobile Edition Series identifies
fine art photographers shooting in a new way, using mobile devices
as their primary tool to capture images, in a category still
defining itself. Among the millions of images posted to social
media every day, the work of these photographers stands out for its
discipline and mastery. Jess Angell - aka Miss Underground - has
been involved with Instagram nearly from its beginning. After
posting a few shots of her favorite London Underground stations,
she realized those images got much more attention than her usual
posts, and @missunderground was born. Jess's work celebrates the
Underground's beautiful and varied geometry and architecture, as
she hunts and waits to capture these normally crowded spaces empty
of people. Fall in love with these subterranean spaces as their
hidden angles and details are revealed.
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Locomotion
(Hardcover)
Alastair Steele; Illustrated by Ryo Takemasa
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R480
R435
Discovery Miles 4 350
Save R45 (9%)
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A stunningly illustrated tribute to all things train, Locomotion
celebrates the ingenuity and usability of trains past, present and
future. From early steam engines through to the modern high-speed
trains of today, Locomotion is a spectacular look at the history of
trains throughout the world, and the wonder and escapism they
evoke. Packed full of iconic trains including the famous Flying
Scotsman and the grand Orient Express as well as encompassing
scenic journeys like the majestic Trans-Siberian railway,
Locomotion makes a stunning gift or reference book for train lovers
of all ages. Beautiful artwork by the award-winning artist Ryo
Takemasa, makes this book one that can be enjoyed over and over
again.
For the latest No 30 edition of the Southern Way, the editor has
something very special in store for EMU enthusiasts - the fact that
this issue is due for release in April 2015 may be something of a
clue...but fans will just have to watch this space. Otherwise, the
latest issue includes the usual multifarious mixture of steam,
infrastructure, reminiscences and what can only be described as the
downright unusual. Just when you thought there was nothing new to
say about the Southern Railway, a whole new selection of
fascinating facts and photographs is released to delight all fans
of the Southern Way series.
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