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Books > Sport & Leisure > Transport: general interest > Trains & railways: general interest
Over the last two and a half years, Chris Tarrant has travelled,
literally, all around the world filming Extreme Railway Journeys
for Channel 5. The hugely successful TV series is already being
repeated, and broadcast rights have been, and continue to be,
picked up in other countries, while it is also being released on
DVD. Chris's journeys have taken him to the Congo, India,
Australia, Bolivia (twice), Japan, Siberia, Myanmar, Canada and
Cuba, and the latest programmes see the completion of filming in
Alaska, Argentina, Azerbaijan, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Chris
Tarrant's Extreme Railway Journeys brings to life beautifully not
only the romance of travelling by train, but also the sights,
sounds and smells of the countries and places visited, while also
illuminating the customs and attitudes of the people the author
encountered along the way. But, as he says, 'I should have known
what I was in for and what the word "extreme" means, when the very
first show saw us filming in the Congo - where the train was six
DAYS late.' Beautifully illustrated with exclusive colour
photographs, Extreme Railway Journeys is not only a record of
remarkable journeys in extraordinary places by one of our shrewdest
commentators. It is also a demonstration of the principle that 'to
travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive'.
Scotland still has hundreds of miles of `dismantled railways', the
term used by Ordnance Survey, and the track beds give scope for
many walks. Some track beds have been `saved' as Tarmacadam
walkway/cycleway routes while others have become well-trodden local
walks. The remainder range from good, to overgrown, to well-nigh
impassable in walking quality. This book provides a handy guide to
trackbed walks with detailed information and maps. It is enhanced
by numerous black and white old railway photographs, recalling
those past days, and by coloured photographs that reflect the
post-Beeching changes. The integral hand-crafted maps identify the
old railway lines and the sites of stations, most of which are now
unrecognisable. The `Railway Age' is summarised and describes the
change from 18th century wagon ways and horse traction to the
arrival of steam locomotives c.1830. The fierce rivalry that then
ensued between the many competing companies as railway development
proceeded at a faster pace is recounted. Although walkers may be
unaware of the tangled history of the development of the railway
system during the Victorian era, many will have heard of, or
experienced, the drastic 1960s cuts of the Beeching axe. However,
in more recent times Scotland has experienced a railway revival -
principally in the Greater Glasgow area but with new stations and
station re-openings elsewhere. The long awaited 30-mile Borders
Railway from Edinburgh to Tweedbank, the longest domestic railway
to be built in Britain for more than a century, is something on a
very different scale. Early passenger numbers have exceeded
expectations and towns served by the line have seen significant
economic benefits. Many railway enthusiasts cling to the hope that
more lines will be reinstated. Meanwhile, those walks offer a
fascinating and varied selection of routes that can fill an
afternoon, a day or a long weekend - an ideal opportunity to get
walking!
Europe by Eurail has been the train traveler's one-stop source for
visiting Europe's cities and countries by rail for nearly fifty
years. Newly revised and updated, this comprehensive annual guide
provides the latest information on fares, schedules, and pass
options, as well as detailed information on more than one hundred
specific rail excursions and sightseeing options.
This ninth edition of Bradt's USA by Rail guidebook has been fully
revised and expanded to take account of changes to Amtrak routes
and services, plus the latest Amtrak and VIA Rail pass details, and
features over 500 destinations, including Disney World, the Grand
Canyon and Niagara Falls. With 25 long-distance train journeys
across the United States and a further 12 in Canada, plus
sightseeing highlights for 38 major cities, accommodation options
from cheap to chic and everything you need to find your way around
unfamiliar train stations, this book has all the practical
information required to make the most of a rail pass. There are
maps, route plans and photographs, up-to-date security and
immigration information, plus vital tips for sightseeing, local
transport and accommodation, as well as chapters on VIA Rail, the
Rocky Mountaineer and other trains in Canada. The book also
includes a history of North American railroads, current steam train
operators, tourist railways and museums, as well as sound advice
for the visitor from overseas. Hundreds of Internet contacts make
it easy to plan and make reservations for any trip you desire. The
grandeur of America's scenery - from its never-ending prairies, the
Joshua trees of the Mojave Desert and the saw-toothed peaks of the
Rocky Mountains to the pounding surf of the Pacific and Atlantic
Oceans - is one of the continent's greatest attractions and there
is no better way to enjoy it than by train. Written by an expert
author who has travelled around 80,000 miles by train in North
America in the last 25 years, Bradt's USA by Rail is the essential
companion for a successful trip.
Join Thomas as he travels around meeting his friends, both old and
new! This colourful chunky board book introduces the brand-new
younger Thomas style. With cute artwork and simple text in a chunky
board that's the perfect size for small hands, this is the perfect
gift for young Thomas & Friends fans. Children will also love
joining in saying Thomas' name, pointing to his number 1 and making
fun engine noises, too. Thomas has been teaching children lessons
about life and friendship for over 75 years. He ranks alongside
other beloved character such as Paddington Bear, Winnie-the-Pooh
and Peter Rabbit as an essential part of our literary heritage.
From best-selling railway expert, Julian Holland, explore Britain's
historical railways in All Aboard. The history of Britain's
railways is a long and fascinating one, filled with stories of
grand endeavours, noted figures and record-breaking feats. Julian
Holland brings together a unique miscellany of intriguing tales and
engaging trivia - the perfect collection for every railway
enthusiast. Stories range from Bulleid's 'Chinese Laundries',
trainspotting trips in Wales and Scotland and Liverpool's 'Dockers'
Umbrella' to railway artists and clergy, a railway-owned airline
and railways that were never built. Find out about * The Royal
Scot's 11,000-mile journey in the USA and Canada * A narrow gauge
island railway in the middle of the Bristol Channel * How the
London & South Western Railway saved the British Empire *
Mallard's unbeaten world speed record of 1938 * How to fly by Great
Western Railway from Cardiff to Plymouth * The 75-mile network of
narrow gauge railways on the Isle of Skye * How another 4,500 miles
of railway escaped closure by Dr Beeching All Aboard is a
delightful miscellany for every railway enthusiast, filled with
fascinating and obscure stories, facts and figures.
In the 1980s and early 1990s, Scotland was an excellent destination
for the railway enthusiast. The many locomotive hauled trains
running through splendid scenery, together with the surviving
railway infrastructure and mechanical signalling, provided many
fine photographic opportunities. My first railway visit to Scotland
was on board The Fair Maid rail tour to Perth, behind Flying
Scotsman in 1983\. The following year, I again travelled to
Scotland, this time on the F & W Railtours The Skirl O' The
Pipes 4, to Kyle of Lochalsh and Mallaig, my first visit to the
Scottish Highlands. I had previously been travelling abroad for
railways, but impressed by what I saw, I decided that I would
quickly return to photograph the Scottish railway scene, before it
changed too much. This was the start of a series of visits, each
for one or two weeks, between 1984 and June 1991, covering the
whole country. This book is a photographic record of the
locomotives, trains and infrastructure of the railways of Scotland
and the landscapes through which the trains ran, as recorded by my
various cameras during the period of my visits.
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The Post Office Railway, when it started running in 1927, was the
first fully automated driverless railway in the world, a full forty
years before the Victoria Line started service in London in 1967.
The railway below London became the main means of moving mail, with
Mount Pleasant being the hub of the distribution system. Linking
with London's main line stations most of the country's
long-distance mail travelled via the Post Office Railway. The
fascinating story of how it began, how it was built, and why it
closed is told here in an accessible way that tries to cover a
highly technical and innovative system in a way that is easy to
understand. The railway closed in 2003, but that was not the end of
the story. The Postal Museum took over part of the Mount Pleasant
sorting office to tell the story of 500 years of postal history and
to open Mail Rail again with specially built trains as a visitor
attraction and the start of a whole new adventure. If you are a
railway enthusiast, postal enthusiast, urban explorer or just
interested in finding out more about one of London's best-kept
secrets this book is a must read for you.
This book details the construction of a range of simple miniature
steam engines and boilers. The projects, each of which can be
completed with only a basic workshop, range from a single-acting
oscillator to more sophisticated twin-cylinder double-acting
engines and a variety of boilers. A final project brings together
engine and boiler for a simple steam railway locomotive. These
projects are a perfect introduction to model engineering and an
enjoyable exercise for the more experienced engineer or those who
wish to pass on their hobby to a younger generation. Stan Bray is
an experienced craftsman in engineering and metalworking; among his
previous books is "Metalworking: Tools and Techniques."
A dynamically written visual history of the world's largest transit
system in all its intriguing, colorful, and even seedy glory packed
with compelling information, as well as fascinating graphics and
illustrations. New York wouldn't be New York without the subway.
This one-time engineering marvel that united and expanded the city
has been a cultural touchstone for the last 114 years. Subway is a
complete, concise history of the transit system, from the technical
obstacles and corruption which impeded plans for an underground
rail line in the late 1800s, to the current state of the systems
and plans for the future. Interspersed throughout are sidebars and
stand-alone sections including profiles of characters who helped
make the subway what it is today; graphics and imagery showing the
evolution of subway cars, tokens and MetroCards, graffiti, and even
subway etiquette ads; how the subway has been characterized in
movies, television, and music; a look at abandoned cars and
stations and more. A passion project for writer and train-buff John
Morris, he brings wit and a journalist's instinct to the book,
grabbing readers' attention with fascinating facts and anecdotes,
conveying a sense of wonder and fun about the world's largest
transit system. With engrossing imagery and a dynamic design,
Subway will be a visual feast and must-have gift book for history
buffs and train fanatics.
This title talks about: Sheffield and Rotherham; Pennine routes
from Penistone; lines around Barnsley; Wakefield, Castleford and
Knottingley; the railway town of Doncaster; and Goole and Selby.
The railway era began in Britain when steam was king. In the age of
petrol and diesel, these once confident, rumbustious railways fell
into decline, yet as their fortunes waned, the fascination for
trains and all their works grew - and has if anything become more
intense as congested roads and high-speed trains have sparked a
revival in railway travel. In The Railways of Britain, Jack Simmons
sympathetically tells the history of the railways and describes
every major aspect of their equipment and operations: permanent
way, buildings, locomotives, rolling stock, signalling and labour
relations. He also makes journeys through the Pennines, Scotland,
Essex and Southern England on which he acts as observer and guide.
This third edition of one of the outstanding works of British
railway literature has been substantially rewritten, revised and
brought up to date. For the first time it has been fully
illustrated in colour and black and white with more than 200
photographs, maps and engravings, many of them previously
unpublished. Jack Simmons, late doyen of British railways
historians, was Emeritus Professor of History at the University of
Leicester. The Railways of Britain was first published in 1961 and
is his best-known work. His other books include St Pancras Station,
The Railway in England and Wales, 1830-1914, Transport Museums in
Britain and Western Europe and The Railway in Town and Country as
well as two volumes in the 11-volume Visual History of Modern
Britain, of which he was General Editor.
Explore 63 of the best rail-trails and multiuse pathways across two
states. All around the country, unused railroad corridors have been
converted to public multiuse trails. Here, the experts from
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy present their list of 63 of the best,
most highly rated rail-trails and other multiuse pathways in
Michigan and Wisconsin. Each entry includes detailed maps, driving
directions to trailheads, activity icons, and succinct
descriptions. Explore Wisconsin's iconic Elroy-Sparta State
Trail-widely acknowledged to be the oldest rail-trail in America-or
Lake Michigan Pathway, which features beaches and marinas that keep
you in close touch with its namesake. Tour Michigan's state capital
on the Lansing River Trail, which winds along scenic riverbanks for
8 miles, from the campus of Michigan State University to Old Town
Lansing. Witness the effects of ancient ice floes on Wisconsin's
landscape along the 52-mile Glacial Drumlin State Trail. You'll
love the variety in this collection of Midwestern multiuse
trails-from beautiful waterways and scenic areas to the hustle and
bustle of the states' urban centers. So whether you're looking for
a trail for a leisurely stroll, a bike ride with the family, or
something a bit more challenging, you'll find it in this
comprehensive trail guide.
When it first opened on October 27, 1904, the New York City
subway ran twenty-two miles from City Hall to 145th Street and
Lenox Avenue--the longest stretch ever built at one time. From that
initial route through the completion of the IND or Independent
Subway line in the 1940s, the subway grew to cover 722 miles--long
enough to reach from New York to Chicago.
In this definitive history, Clifton Hood traces the complex and
fascinating story of the New York City subway system, one of the
urban engineering marvels of the twentieth century. For the
subway's centennial the author supplies a new foreward explaining
that now, after a century, "we can see more clearly than ever that
this rapid transit system is among the twentieth century's greatest
urban achievements."
M&GNJR was a Midlands to East Anglia railway linking towns and
villages like a patchwork knitted together by clever business
entrepreneurs. It started in the 1850s when there was intense
rivalry between railway companies and two rich and powerful
companies - MR and GNR - were behind the project. Joint,' added by
a Special Act of Parliament in 1893, confirms this patchwork was
the amalgamation of several small independent railway companies
plus the MR and GNR. The company was especially interested in
stealing a march on the Great Eastern Railway (GER) which believed
it was the principal railway serving East Anglia. Poppyland was the
nickname created for the Cromer area of the Norfolk coast by
Clement Scott, an influential poet, author and drama critic of The
Daily Telegraph who first visited in 1883. He claimed that . . .
clean air laced with perfume of wild flowers was opiate to his
tired mind.' Scott publicised his delight and many rich families,
and their servants, visited too; the railway business entrepreneurs
saw a growing market for their patchwork. The M&GNJR grew
eastwards to Norwich, Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft and attracted
passengers from the Midlands and London. The M&GNJR grew - then
withered as cars, buses, overseas travel offered new holiday
options. Closure came on 28 February 1959 but North Norfolk Railway
- the Poppy Line - has survived as a heritage line so the Joint is
not forgotten!
This is the shocking true story behind the botched introduction of
Automatic Half-Barrier level-crossings into Britain. January 1968
saw the convening of the first Parliamentary Court of Inquiry into
a railway accident in Britain since the Tay Bridge Disaster nearly
a century before. Why was this? Because Britain's 'Railway
Detectives', the Railway Inspectorate, who would normally
investigate all aspects of railway safety, were also in charge of
the introduction of automatic Continental-style, level-crossings
into this country. At Hixon in Staffordshire, one of these newly
installed 'robot' crossings on British Rail's flagship Euston to
Glasgow mainline, was the scene of a fatal high-speed collision
between a packed express train and an enormous, heavily laden
low-loader. For once, the 'Railway Detectives' were the ones having
to explain their actions, in the full glare of media attention, to
an expectant and increasingly worried nation. (There was another
awful, fatal collision at an automatic crossing at Beckingham,
Lincolnshire, in April of 1968). Using previously undisclosed
information, the author has been able to cast fresh light on to not
only the Hixon Disaster, but also the extraordinary story of the
largely successful attempts, by British Railways and the Railway
Inspectorate of the time, to hide the truth of just how close we
came to having dozens of 'Hixons' right across the rail network.
Among the threads running through Abraham Lincoln's adult life was
an association with railroads. His first administration began with
a pre-inaugural tour, five days of which were in the Empire State,
while closure was brought to his second administration by a funeral
train that also took five days crossing New York. Separated by four
years, these two epic journeys represented events unique in
American history. By virtue of the trains traveling through the
heart of the state, thousands of ordinary people witnessed one, if
not both, passages and, in a larger sense, also became participants
in the grand tableau. Whether the visit by the presidential train
lasted overnight, part of day, a few minutes, or only fleeting
seconds, the experience became indelibly etched in the minds of
those who had the opportunity to stand along the tracks or parade
route, to see and possibly hear their leader speak, or to view his
remains. Given the uniqueness the trains' purposes, they represent
seminal events in national and state history. Fortunately, though
there is a lack of tangible evidence in the form of relics and
photographs of either event, there does exist a substantial
documentation in the form of newspaper accounts, memoirs, and
diaries. These permit the two fascinating and intertwined stories
to be told in some detail.
The seminal and pioneering London Underground is more than a mass
transportation network - it is a style icon, its history involving
some of the most important architects and artists of their time.
Exploring Frank Pick's vision through the development of Metroland
to Holden's innovative designs, David Long expertly weaves the
story of the Underground - its abundance of characters (some good,
some not so good), design firsts and brand identity - with Jane
Magarigal's atmospheric photography. From suburban expansion to
Blitz bombings and Soviet adulation, this book celebrates what
remains a magnificent engineering and aesthetic achievement while
providing an affectionate if slightly elegiac portrait of a London
which is now gone for good.
The new puzzle book from the National Railway Museum in York! Have
you got what it takes to travel around Britain solving these 100
train-based brainteasers, word games, number crunchers and puzzles?
Escape from your home and put your puzzle-solving skills to the
test with these captivating conundrums that will take you on a
whirlwind ride through the nation's most extraordinary past and
present railway journeys. From the first journeys of legendary
locomotives such as The Flying Scotsman and the Penydarren, to
record-breaking routes and trips that changed our world, this is
the perfect gift for puzzle book fanatics, train and travel
enthusiasts, and history buffs! Inspired by the museum's archives
this book is jam-packed with a variety of puzzles, from anagrams,
crosswords and wordsearches to logic and mathematical challenges.
Alongside puzzles to suit all levels, each section also includes an
introduction that covers the most fascinating trivia, facts and
figures behind the history of our railways, written by Chris
Valkoinen from the National Railway Museum's Search Engine. There's
a treasure trove of puzzles to be solved - are you ready to climb
aboard?
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