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

Railway Children

Advantages: A step back in time!
Disadvantages: It is a little short...but it doesnt have to be!

...and sociability that is hard to find these days. You will find yourself chatting to the guard or any of the ticket inspectors up and down on the train. Even when you go in to the refreshement rooms eg at Oxenhope or on the platform at Keighley you receive intimate and friendly service. I am not going to go into detail regarding the journeys up and down the line [albeit a short 5 mile trip] as I believe another author has covered that well. Suffice to say the scenery is lovely and one can relate to the railway children film scenery and also to recognise some of the scenes that you may have seen in Sherlock Holmes adventures [Keighley railway station ] amongst others. The staff do go out of their way to make it special and if you have children I recommend the Christmas Specials that KWVR run annually although even if you do not have children the run...

binny61 11.02.2007 · Read review
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Review of Keighley & Worth Valley Railway

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

...a plaque inside our carriage that dated it to 1902. The interior of the carriages are quite basic and there's not a great deal of leg room but the leather seats were comfortable enough and since the journey only takes about ten minutes anyway this wasn't really a problem. The windows open fully so it is suggested that parents keep hold of small children but the train only moves along at about five miles an hour anyway. There is a roof above each carriage too so at least if the weather isn't good then you're not exposed to the elements. There are several ticket types available Adult single: £1.70 (full journey) £0.90 (halfway) day return £2.70 Child single £0.80 (full journey) £0.40 (halfway) day return £1.30 Discounted fares are available for senior citizens and family tickets are also available. Volks Electric Railway has been operated...

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

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

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

...waiting in queues waiting for the train. I love listening to childrens conversations as they play . If you wish to buy a brio railway crossing 33388 then http://www.thelittlehencompany.com are selling it for £9.95 . Lambs toys http://www.lambstoys.co.uk are selling it for £12.95. You should be able to buy this piece of track at many shops selling Brio trains...

mumsymary 16.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of Brio Railway Crossing

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

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

...was an approximately 20 minute trip, which was just long enough to please our two young sons, although I was a bit disappointed not to be able to disembark at Staverton station. I can understand why they did this though, as it was extremely busy and they wanted to make sure that everyone had a chance to ride. Since we live nearby, we popped into Staverton a few days later to have a look around instead. This is a very pretty ?chocolate box? station and well worth a visit. After our ride with Duck, we visited the small museum exhibit on Platform 1, although to be honest, this wasn?t very interesting for the children, so we crossed the wooden footbridge to the Gardens and picnic area on the other side of the line. A miniature railway operates here, for which there is an extra (£1) charge and there is also a huge, open-air, model railway...

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

...train. *** Other Things *** Another "attraction" situated at the museum is the Yorkshire Eye. This is located between the 2 main halls. This is the northern version of the London eye - a bit smaller, the eye rises to 54m above York, you can certainly get some fantastic views, right across the moors to Fylingdales! York Minster looks fantastic from up here! Having been on the London Eye, I was surprised by the speed this one went round! There is a charge for this. Adults £6 Children £4 It is apparently accessible to wheelchair users *** The shop *** Here you can buy many railway related items, such as books and paintings. I actually thought the prices were fair, no more than you would pay outside of the museum. They had a range of kids "pocket money" items too. ~~~ The Explainers ~~~ At various times...

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