Belles and Whistles
Journeys Through Time on Britain's Trains
Belles and Whistles
Journeys Through Time on Britain's Trains
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Hardback
£15.99
Publisher: Profile Books Ltd
ISBN: 9781781252123
Number of Pages: 288
Published: 04/09/2014
Width: 14.4 cm
Height: 22.2 cm
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.
Praise for Underground, Overground
'I would strongly endorse Martin's book as the stop to get on at. -- Will Self Martin's knowledge is both encyclopaedic and full of quirky digressions, based on everyday observation ... this history has plenty of fun detailing the travails of the Underground's pioneering figures. * Evening Standard * A jaunty history ... studded with little observational gems ... he can occasionally stop you in your tracks with a well-turned phrase * Sunday Times * A sparky history of the tube.. honours the Underground, and glories in its oddities * Sunday Telegraph * Seeing Martin puzzle his way through the history is half the fun, as are his lively interlocutors...the language is beautiful * Financial Times * For those who love a bit of darting about the Londinium subway whenever the chance comes, Underground, Overground will be a sweat-induced, claustrophobic treat * The List * Hugely entertaining...gives us all the lore and myths...Underground, Overground captures the same zest, zaniness and sense of marvel shown in the recent BBC Two series The Tube * The Times * A bittersweet journey of contrasts between romance and reality. Martin's wry, witty commentary punches more than just tickets. -- Iain Finlayson * Saga * Whether describing his trips to Paris or Penzance, Martin is entertaining company, alive to the history of his route ... leaves you with renewed confidence that trains can still be the most civilised way to travel. -- Orlando Bird * FT * His wonderfully well-informed, anecdotal prose punches more than just tickets -- Iain Finlayson * Times * Martin's style is quirky and accessible ... entertaining and informative ... laced with an underlying nostalgia for a little lost glamour -- Veronica Groocock * Third Age Matter *
