Great Rail Journeys by Anthony Lambert and Eva Kelly
Who knew there were so many rail adventures to be enjoyed through so many interesting corners of the world? In his latest book, railway historian and frequent traveller Anthony Lambert covers 36 journeys by rail in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, North America, and South America. It includes our own Christchurch to Greymouth TranzAlpine route. Each chapter offers a thorough and fascinating account of not only the present-day journey from A to B, but also the geographical, economic, cultural, and sometimes geopolitical history of the regions the train passes through.
Lambert highlights the many advantages of rail travel. He notes that increased interest in sustainable forms of transport that minimise environmental harm has led to greater investment in rail.
It is not often that a technology written off as obsolescent is given a new lease of life and embraced as a way of solving some of society’s problems.
Lambert provides compelling descriptions of how each route was determined, how construction was managed and how long it took, and what the rail line was originally used for. To transport settlers, hunters or film-makers, for example, or to move cargo, minerals or livestock – including elephants. He also describes the sights and experiences on offer to today’s travellers. Out the train window you might see a Viking grave or a waterfall, the emerald-green alpine Soča River or pistachio trees, a cable car or a bobsleigh run.
Construction of rail lines was not easy and could require hundreds or thousands of workers, sled dogs, complex equipment, and skilled engineers such as Gustave Eiffel. Lambert explains that until dynamite was invented, some workers relied on picks and shovels and occasionally gunpowder. The work was hard and demanding. There were tunnels and bridges to be built, gradients to be overcome, and weather-related events that caused disasters.
According to Lambert, Mark Twain was highly irritated when he had to switch from one Australian train to another in the middle of the night because of the difference in gauges at the New South Wales and Victoria border. Australia, says Lambert, used 22 different gauges over time, with the first Australian railway opening in 1831. There are local tales as well – in Otira a sneaky thief who’d been raiding locomotive coal was caught when the ‘canny local policeman’ put cracker explosives in the coal pile.
In some countries steam locomotives are still in use, in others high-speed rail dominates. On some routes travellers are allowed off the train to visit nearby places of interest such as museums, fortified towns, or the site of a former diamond mine.
The Higashi-Noshiro to Kawabe line in Japan has musicians playing Tsugaru folk songs on a traditional three‑stringed instrument (the shamisen) in one carriage, with the music piped to the rest of the train through speakers. On-board facilities vary. Some trains on the Singapore to Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok route have a prayer room. The food served on the routes Lambert covers includes lamb and sage sausages, treacle tarts and pastries. The San Antonio de los Cobres to La Polvorilla train in Argentina serves ‘mate de coca’ (coca-leaf tea) to prevent altitude sickness, and oxygen is also available.
Where a rail journey or a rail-related location features in a book or movie, Lambert outlines the context, often by including relevant quotes or excerpts from films, poems, and books. For example, he notes that Trainspotting featured Britain’s highest railway station, Courrour, and Agatha Christie’s enjoyment of train journeys was captured in her autobiography.
‘Trains are wonderful … To travel by train is to see nature and human beings, towns and churches and rivers, in fact, to see life.’
Together with technical and operational information, Lambert shares vivid and engaging depictions of scenery, landmarks, and everyday life on each route. Even if you’re not planning a train journey anytime soon, you’ll get a good sense of what there is to see and experience along the way.
Eventually the train emerges from the woods into upland meadows and arrives at Poschiavo … It’s one of those places that induces a feeling of well-being, taking lunch in the main square … sitting under colourful umbrellas with the gentle trickle of water in fountains and splashes of colour from hanging baskets and pendant fuchsias on the surrounding balconies of elegant patrician houses. [On the Chur to Tirano route, from Switzerland to Italy]
Lambert’s descriptions of train stations and related buildings are also intriguing. Many of these structures are beautifully illustrated in coloured sketches by Eva Kelly. Other images include viaducts, memorials, tunnels, villages and forest scenes. Some of the more striking images span across two pages. It’s a shame that there is no caption to explain what each sketch shows, although you may be able to make an educated guess. A map of the routes would also have been useful, although there’s more information about each route online. A reading list at the back of the book features selected fiction, non-fiction, magazines and journals for people keen to learn more about railways.
Lambert’s enthusiasm for rail travel offers a fresh perspective on the adventures that await and the spectacular journeys you can take. For me, his writing also prompted reflection on, and gratitude for, the workers who built the tracks and the infrastructure, and the many different people worldwide who work hard to make rail journeys safe, smooth, and memorable.
Reviewer: Anne Kerslake Hendricks
Frances Lincoln
