TRAINS NOW DEPARTED (PB)

Michael Williams tells the stories of some of the most fascinating lost trains of Britain, vividly evoking the glories of a bygone age. In his personal odyssey around Britain he discovers the stories of the pioneers who built the tracks, the yarns of the men and women who operated them and the colourful trains that ran on them as well as the lost delights of train travel, such as haute cuisine in the dining car, the grand expresses with their evocative names, and continental boat trains to romantic far-off places. This is a journey into the soul of our railways, summoning up a magic which, although mired in time, is fortunately not lost for ever.