
Last Call for the Dining Car
The Telegraph Book of Great Railway Journeys
Michael Kerr(Editor)
Aurum (Publisher)
Published on 25. October 2009
Book
Hardback
320 pages
978-1-84513-497-6 (ISBN)
Description
Ever since Paul Theroux embarked in London on the first train of his Great Railway Bazaar, railways have been a rich source for the best travel writing.
This is truer than ever in the twenty-first century. As the environmental implications of relentless air travel cast an ominous shadow over the prospect of foreign adventure, the opportunity to jump on a train at St Pancras and be whisked straight to the continent offers a wonderful alternative. Train travel has assumed a new pragmatic importance as well as romance - which is no doubt why so many more tour companies are offering a great train ride as part of their holiday itineraries.
Now, Michael Kerr, the Telegraph' s deputy Travel Editor, has burrowed deep in the newspaper' s archives and collected together the very best of its writings about the railway: here are journeys non-stop from London to Vladivostok; across the Canadian Rockies; the first train to traverse Australia from Darwin to Alice Springs; and on the teeming, crawling, travelling adventure of Indian railways. In scenes much more familiar to the British commuter, Boris Johnson discovers his " inner McEnroe" thanks to signal failure in the Midlands, and Michael Palin samples the delights of British Rail Inter-City.
This is an anthology that will appeal to the railway buff and the armchair traveller alike; to anyone who has ever Inter-railed in their youth and everyone nostalgic for the days when the only way to cross a continent was by train.
This is truer than ever in the twenty-first century. As the environmental implications of relentless air travel cast an ominous shadow over the prospect of foreign adventure, the opportunity to jump on a train at St Pancras and be whisked straight to the continent offers a wonderful alternative. Train travel has assumed a new pragmatic importance as well as romance - which is no doubt why so many more tour companies are offering a great train ride as part of their holiday itineraries.
Now, Michael Kerr, the Telegraph' s deputy Travel Editor, has burrowed deep in the newspaper' s archives and collected together the very best of its writings about the railway: here are journeys non-stop from London to Vladivostok; across the Canadian Rockies; the first train to traverse Australia from Darwin to Alice Springs; and on the teeming, crawling, travelling adventure of Indian railways. In scenes much more familiar to the British commuter, Boris Johnson discovers his " inner McEnroe" thanks to signal failure in the Midlands, and Michael Palin samples the delights of British Rail Inter-City.
This is an anthology that will appeal to the railway buff and the armchair traveller alike; to anyone who has ever Inter-railed in their youth and everyone nostalgic for the days when the only way to cross a continent was by train.
Reviews / Votes
'It's hard to imagine a better anthology of this much-loved travel genre' 'Endlessly enjoyable anthology of articles...sit back, slow down and relish' ***** 'These tales of great journeys of the world make entertaining reading' ' It' s hard to imagine a better anthology of this much-loved travel genre'' Endlessly enjoyable anthology of articles... sit back, slow down and relish' *****
' These tales of great journeys of the world make entertaining reading'
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Quarto Publishing PLC
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 138 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-84513-497-6 (9781845134976)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
08/2011
1st Edition
Aurum
€13.49
Available for download
Person
Michael Kerr is deputy travel editor of the Daily Telegraph. He edited Last Call for the Dining Car for Aurum and Bon Voyage!: The Telegraph Book of River and Sea Journeys.