Belles and Whistles
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 five of 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, reportage from the present and romantic evocations of the past. New Read Belles and Whistles author Andrew Martin For Kindle ePUB or eBook – kino-fada.fr I spend a lot of time on trains and have a long suffering fondness for them, so do like a light railway themed non fiction book My family are in East Anglia work keeps sending me to Milton Keynes I live in Scotland I absolutely refuse to take domestic flights on environmental grounds and don t have a car British trains are far too expensive and frequently unreliable, however at their best they can be a wonderfully restful and picturesque way to travel Also one of the best places to read I spend a lot of time on trains and have a long suffering fondness for them, so do like a light railway themed non fiction book My family are in East Anglia work keeps sending me to Milton Keynes I live in Scotland I absolutely refuse to take domestic flights on environmental grounds and don t have a car British trains are far too expensive and frequently unreliable, however at their best they can be a wonderfully restful and picturesque way to travel Also one of the best places to read if I post a sudden rush of book reviews it usually means I ve been on another eight hour train journey Delay repay is also much better than it used to be, as it s now paid in cash rather than begrudging vouchers Don t forget if your train isthan 30 minutes late, you can get at least some of your money ...4.5This was great I ve seen Andrew Martin several times on various TV programmes and he always seems entertaining and interesting.In Belles and Whistles he attempts to recreate 5 famous named train journeys from the past by travelling on their nearest modern day equivalents, also trying to recreate the lines they ran on often impossible.One of the best days of my life was travelling from York to Scarborough and back on a train pulled by the world famous Flying Scotsman A hush came over Yor 4.5This was great I ve seen Andrew Martin several times on various TV programmes and he always seems entertaining and interesting.In Belles and Whistles he attempts to recreate 5 famous named train journeys from the past by travelling on their nearest modern day equivalents, also trying to recreate the lines they ran on often impossible.One of the best days of my life was travelling from York to Scarborough and back on a train pulled by the world famous Flying Scotsman A hush came over York Station as the most famous train ever came into view, and only those with a golden ticket were allowed down on the platform, let alone on the train I was with a group of friends and we drank champagne on the journey and all along the route train spotters and photographers were in fields by the rails waiting to see this marvel pass by Wonderful day The ...A train spotters history of British railways, the counterpoint to the excellent economic and social histories by Christian Wolmar Unlike Wolmar, Martin recreates the history as he recreates the journeys, taking the equivalent modern day trains to the glittering trains of the past, like The Flying Scotsman It works very well, with Martin recoveri...c2015 5 Who could resist the cover Nicely written although a little critical at times not surprising I have yet to hear anybody complimentary about the national rail service since that man Beeching cut the rail network to shreds Definitely recommended to the rail enthusiasts among the normal crew.An interesting book but ofinterest to the rail enthusiast.Andrew Martin tries to recreate some of Britain sfamous railway journeys, while telling the history of the trains that ran those lines This book full of nostalgia for those romantic trains is the perfect present for your trainspotting friends and maybe a bit less perfect for your other friends Personally, I found about 40% of the book interesting murders, facts about stations and types of carriages and the rest a bit of waste of time bridges, conversations with other travellers, sandw Andrew Martin tries to recreate some of Britain sfamous railway journeys, while telling the history of the trains that ran those lines This book full of nostalgia for those romantic trains is the perfect present for your trainspotting friends and maybe a bit less perfect for your other friends Persona...Loved this book The evocation of Britain through the train journeys was wonderful.Railways are often in my dreams What that means, I cannot saybut trains stations have figured significantly in my lifefrom early trips to town or the south coast, in old carriages from before the Second World War to long hauls to Italy via the Alpine tunnels, or to the coast of Cardigan Bay via Shrewsbury Welshpool This affectionate but realistic assessment of British railway institutions is a pleasant enough jaunt through our past glories contemporary confusions but An Railways are often in my dreams What that means, I cannot saybut trains stations have figured significantly in my lifefrom early trips to town or the south coast, in old carriages from before the Second World War to long hauls to Italy via the Alpine tunnels, or to the coast of Cardigan Bay via Shrewsbury Welshpool This affectionate but realistic assessment of British railway institutions is a pleasant enough jaunt through our past glories contemporary confusions but Andrew Martin shares my wonder at such variety genius romance that I can forgive him his occasional detours in to rolling stock, toilets, catering fabrics that fascinate his trainspotter s anorakiac tendencies I have been guilty myself of a rapt enchantment at the very sound of the passing Golden Arrow , as I watched muddied oafs scrambling for a brown egg underneath grey skies on my school rugby pitches, before I would step up to land another 3 points with a kick towards the railw...I live with a very young train fan The kind who can identify all of the Thomas the Tank Engine characters even though he can t read, who understands about buffers and branch lines and would happily live at the Train Museum if we let him It would be easy to blame him on my growing interest in train history, but to be totally honest, although he s sparked a current curiosity, trains have been interesting to me for...An enjoyable wander down memory lane for those just old enough to remember the golden age of trains This book brought back memories of train spotting as a kid, putting pennies on the line to see them get flattened not recommended health and safety wise , poking around in oily engine sheds, recording all those train numbers in the latest Ian Allen.The world seemed aexciting place in the era of The Flying Scotsmen and the like Andrew Martin writes with passion and humour about the An enjoyable wander down memory lane for those just old enough to remember the golden age of trains This book brought back memories of train spotting as a kid...
- English
- 15 July 2018 Andrew Martin
- Paperback
- 281 pages
- 1781252130
- Andrew Martin
- Belles and Whistles