On the Slow Train Again: Twelve Great British Railway Journeys
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.12 (824 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 009955285X |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 218 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-04-18 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
From the most luxurious and historicaboard the Orient Expressto the most futuristicon the driverless trains of London’s Docklands Light Railwayhere is a unique travel companion celebrating the treasures of our railway heritage from one of Britain’s most knowledgeable railway writers.. He discovers a perfect country branch line in London’s commuterland, and travels on one of the slowest services in the land along the shores of the lovely Dovey estuary to the far west of Wales. Michael Williams has spent the past year traveling along the fascinating rail byways of Britain for this new collection of journeys. Here is the "train to the end of the world" running for more than four splendid hours through lake, loch, and moorland from Inverness to Wick, the most northerly town in Britain. He takes the stopping train across the Pennines on a line with so few services that its glorious scenery is a secret known only to the regulars. Here, too, is the Bittern Line in Norfolk and the Tarka Line in North Devon as well as
"A delicious read, an evocative tour of our heritage, and a past that, in some places at least, still remain in the present" Evening Standard "Charming" Choice "A wonderful follow-up to his excellent On The Slow Train The author weaves the strands of past times, and how the railways have changed, in with the details of the present day places wonderfully well Williams has a languid, charming, almost hypnotic style of writing which is well worth reading for the sheer pleasure of his language" Bookbag "One man's joyous account of his two-year, 30,000 mile quest to find Britain's most enchanting rail journeys" Daily Mail "Williams is an ardent train buff and a first class journalist with a keen eye and gift for info-packed prose" Independent
"Good follow-up to the previous Slow Train book." according to 51mon. I shall be trying some of these routes next time I'm in the UK, as long as they haven't been Beeching'd.. trains G.I.Forbes This is the authors account of 12 railway journeys in Britain (10 in England and one each in Scotland and Wales)Each trip has a distinct description and is covered in 15-20 pages accompanyed by a map and illustration.This is a well researched bookwith excellent observations that would encourage anyone to take at least one of these railway journeys.My favourite is the one from Inverness to Wick which I took decades ago but missed all he observations of the author.A first class book.. How sad. John the Reader Here we are again, back on the slow trains of a vastly changed rail system in a once great Britain, now, from this author's own descriptions a more sad and sleazy world with only a remnant of the whole cloth that enthusiastic volunteers maintain with any human and humane train services, with the rest given away to "Privatization". At least Michael Williams miraculously still finds trains that travel through beauty and human-sized landscapes although he rather strains our joint-journeying with him by the inclusion of the London Light Docklands Railway with their computerized driverless trains, similar to those soulless trundles we en
He is a veteran Fleet Street journalist, having held many senior positions, including deputy editor of the Independent on Sunday, executive editor of the Independent, and head of news at the Sunday Times.. Michael Williams writes widely on railways for many publications