A Railway with a difference

Advantages: A true story of one man's courage
Disadvantages: Very distressing at times

...As many of you will already know, I am an avid reader of anything and everything. I've always had a love of books and will read any book placed in front of me. Some subjects will just captivate my interest and, when my dad lent this book to me, I did not think that a book about railways would be interesting. How wrong I was! The RRP on this is £7.99, although if you shop around, it can be found online for a lot less (try Amazon marketplace for a price of about £3). I always shop around for my books, as I am a bit of a tightwad haha! But seriously I will happily pay for a second hand copy of a book, as sometimes it is just too expensive to buy it new. Anyway, I digress and should really get back to the review of this book. Eric Lomax (the author) lived for most of his life in Edinburgh prior to the outbreak of WW2. While...

bonsi6337 23.10.2008 · Read review
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Review of The Railway Man - Eric Lomax

CHILTERN RAILWAYS

Advantages: On time, new trains, comfortable
Disadvantages: Pricy to only go a few stops, trains are infrequent on Sundays

...Introduction ~~ Well the British railways are in a bit of a state. Unsafe, late and unreliable are three words that come to mind. Well those three words don't go with all of Britain's railways. Well those three words certainly don't go with Chiltern Railways, who I use a lot. They provide services between Birmingham, the West Midlands and London. Frequency of trains ~~ Out of the many times I have used Chiltern Railways the train has never been more than 5 minutes late. And usually it is dead on time. Yes I bet your thinking if only all British rail services were like Chiltern Railways. Trains are very frequent in the week and on Saturdays but trains are very infrequent on Sundays and the service is restricted. The service is also interrupted on Sundays due to track maintenance. Value ~~ Not great. Comfort ~~ All...

Disillusioned 04.09.2001 · Read review
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Review of Chiltern Railways

The oldest electric railway in the world

Advantages: Good fun, reasonable prices
Disadvantages: Only runs along a short route

...Running for a length of around two kilometres along Brighton's seafront Volk's Electric Railway is the oldest operating electric railway system in the world. Established in 1883 it was not the first electric rail system of its kind, that award goes to a similar system at Lichterfelde, Berlin that predates this one by a couple of years. However that one no longer operates so Brighton's version qualifies as the oldest one still in use. Brighton's electric railway is a narrow gauge railway that was the brainchild of Magnus Volk. It operates between the Aquarium, adjacent to the pier to the marina and the length of the queues at the stations at both end during the recent Easter Bank Holiday prove that it is still a popular attraction. There are only three stations along its route; the Aquarium at the eastern end of the line close to...

micksheff 16.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of Volks Electric Railway, Brighton

South Devon Railway

Advantages: Nostalgic look back in time.Wonderful scenery, friendly Staff, Clean Trains.
Disadvantages: Short journey.

...We visited South Devon Railway for a day trip to Totnes on the steam train. Admission Prices: Return trip (single fares also available) Buckfastleigh - Totnes Littlehempston Adult £9.90 Senior Citizen £9.20 Child £5.90 (5 years - 14 years; under 5s FREE) Family £28.90 (two adults and two children) There is also FREE parking at Buckfastleigh for cars and coaches. We travelled from Totnes to Buckfastleigh to Totnes and it was just like going back in time. It was a thorougly enjoyable ride on a proper steam train. Taking in the wonderful scenery from Buckfastleigh to Totnes. We went in the summer and it was a fantastic journey beside the river Dart t. The trains are clean and comfortable, in my opinion much better than the trains of today. The children enjoyed the ride and the ability to get up and move...

livelylad 31.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of South Devon Railway Trust

What a way to run a railway

Advantages: The comfort and excitement of long distance rail
Disadvantages: Expensive; no customer focus; communication by rumour

...My wife and I rather liked Sydney Central Station. Monumentally Victorian, it exudes something of the grandeur that all big city termini ought to possess. The cafeteria in particular, with its tables spilling out onto the concourse, and its murals of scenes from Australia's past (their style a cross between aboriginal art and industrial realism), was a pleasant place to wait. This was just as well, because we were to wait at the station rather longer than expected. We had arrived early to check in our luggage, something on which Great Southern Railway, the company that operates the Indian Pacific, insists. They say 45 min before the scheduled time of departure; to be on the safe side we made it an hour. I have noted elsewhere my belief that by insisting on this kind of rigmarole railway companies are throwing away such...

torr 24.05.2005 (16.06.2005) · Read review
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Review of Indian Pacific Railway

Does your Matchbox car need to cross the Brio railway line ?

Advantages: Great addition to the Brio train track
Disadvantages: none

...Does your Matchbox car need to cross the Brio railway line ? If so then go to the 33388 BRIO Railway Crossing . This crossing will allow your car to cross the line safely without being ploughed down by the wooden magnetic brio express. This crossing does have a section of rail with male and female connectors at opposite ends it will fit in anywhere along the track . With this crossing comes a straight piece of track too. You do need someone to control this crossing to raise and lower the red safety barriers which are fitted in yellow wooden posts. The grey road with white road markings crosses the track. You can use toy road or draw a road onto paper or card to extend the road for the cars. With this set also comes two free standing red crossed barrier warning safety signs these are on short wooden posts fixed to...

mumsymary 16.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of Brio Railway Crossing

Thomas at the South Devon Railway

Advantages: Very pretty, well located to combine with other attractions
Disadvantages: Expensive, lack of display space, no platform tickets available

...The South Devon Railway is, as the name suggests, a railway situated in South Devon, running steam trains from Totnes to Buckfastleigh. I visited with my family in May 2007, on a special ?Day Out with Thomas? weekend. There are three working stations on the line: Buckfastleigh, Staverton and Totnes Littlehempstone. If you are travelling by car, it?s best to head to Buckfastleigh station where there is extensive free parking just off the main A38 road from Plymouth to Exeter. There is some limited free parking at Staverton. At Totnes station there is no parking, although you can park at the Main Line (First Great Western) station or the dedicated Totnes Council car park, for both of which there is a (reasonably steep) charge, and a short walk to the station. If coming by train, a good feature of this heritage line is that, unlike many...

Ali1000 11.06.2007 (18.06.2007) · Read review
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Review of South Devon Railway Trust

The railway past comes to life

Advantages: Great day out
Disadvantages: None for me - building work going on

...So on with the anorak and out with the note book, a visit to the National Railway Museum (NRM) is on today. I went on a bright and sunny Monday in mid March *** What is it? *** The NRM is the largest collection of railway artefacts in the World, covering some 300 years of railway history. From full size locomotives to stationmaster's hats, it is all here. There are lots of things to do, from wandering round gazing at massive locomotives, to getting hands on with various interactive displays. The NRM is located right next door to York station, in the old engine sheds and goods yard. *** How Do You Get There? *** I was staying in Yorkshire on Holiday, so I took the train from the local station (Malton £6.40 return) directly into York, the NRM is a 5 or 10 minute walk away (you do have a number of stairs to climb...

lazza123 10.04.2007 (25.03.2008) · Read review
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Review of National Railway Museum (York)

My 10 Snapshots of the National Railway Museum

Advantages: free entrance, fantastic collection of railway related memorabilia.
Disadvantages: none that I could see.

...The National Railway Museum (often shortened to NRM) in York has been open to the public since 1975, and now has become one of the largest and richest collections of railway related material in the world. It has won many awards including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001. NRM is located in Leeman Road, next to York railway station. There are three main areas open to visitors: Great Hall, Station Hall and Outdoor Play Area. Historically the Great Hall was York?s North Motive Power Depot (an engine shed) which originally had 4 locomotive turntables. Station Hall was the main goods (freight) transhipment station for York and the Works was the York Diesel Locomotive Depot until 1986. Today mainly in the Station Hall there are displays about the historical development of the railway industry and British locomotives. In...

happysh2009 17.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of National Railway Museum, York

Anglia Railways

Advantages: Let someone else do the driving
Disadvantages: A bit cramped and a bit bumpy at times

...News & Events It is well worth a visit. Now about my trip on Anglia Railways: To be honest I was so nervous about the interview that I didn?t pay that much attention to my journey to London. I was a little stressed though as I got onto the wrong train in the first place. I?d looked at the information on the screens and it said the London Train was in Platform 1A so I got on the one that was there. However a man came round and asked everyone where they were going. A lady behind me said Liverpool. I thought she meant Liverpool Street Station. He then asked me and when I said London he said ?no you?re not, not on this train. You need to get on the train in front of this one.? It could have been me being stressed and dippy but it wouldn?t hurt that even if you check the screens it is still a good idea to ask a human if it...

hellywelly 08.05.2003 · Read review
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Review of Anglia Railways