Book 89 - Michael Williams "On The Slow Train"
Michael Williams "On The Slow Train: Twelve Great British Railway Journeys" (Arrow)
In case you think this a mere tome for train spotters, and reject the idea that it might be worth reading, just cast your eye over the literary figures who contribute views and quotes to Michael Williams splendid, highly descriptive, narrative … John Betjeman, of course, the most beloved Poet Laureate, Paul Theroux, Miles Kington, Thomas Hardy … and one chapter alone tempts readers, the fabled Wessex line that rambles through Thomas Hardy country. From Casterbridge via Tess of the D’ Urbervilles!
Cadbury Castle, Camelot of King Arthur, Hardy’s Kings Arms with the Henchard wife, sold off by her husband, peering through the window - all on Brunel’s old line converted from the Robert Stephenson original - rolling through the heartland of Wessex pass Glastonbury Tor, the legendary home of the Holy Grail ... there are eleven other thrilling rides and chapters to this great read.
Amazingly, even though several of Williams trips are on original steam trains - owned now by Heritage Great Britain rather than private rail-moguls or England’s own ”Robber Barons” - all these evocative descriptions of trips take place in the last ten years. Despite the bumbled de-nationalization of the entire British Rail Network … or that the survived the Beeching years … trains services to rural halts and highlands can still be found.
In case you think this a mere tome for train spotters, and reject the idea that it might be worth reading, just cast your eye over the literary figures who contribute views and quotes to Michael Williams splendid, highly descriptive, narrative … John Betjeman, of course, the most beloved Poet Laureate, Paul Theroux, Miles Kington, Thomas Hardy … and one chapter alone tempts readers, the fabled Wessex line that rambles through Thomas Hardy country. From Casterbridge via Tess of the D’ Urbervilles!
Cadbury Castle, Camelot of King Arthur, Hardy’s Kings Arms with the Henchard wife, sold off by her husband, peering through the window - all on Brunel’s old line converted from the Robert Stephenson original - rolling through the heartland of Wessex pass Glastonbury Tor, the legendary home of the Holy Grail ... there are eleven other thrilling rides and chapters to this great read.
Amazingly, even though several of Williams trips are on original steam trains - owned now by Heritage Great Britain rather than private rail-moguls or England’s own ”Robber Barons” - all these evocative descriptions of trips take place in the last ten years. Despite the bumbled de-nationalization of the entire British Rail Network … or that the survived the Beeching years … trains services to rural halts and highlands can still be found.