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Platform Souls: The Trainspotter as 20-Century Hero
Nicholas Whittaker’s much-loved classic recollects the long sunny days of his childhood when, notepad in hand, jam sandwiches in the duffel bag, he happily spent his time jotting down train numbers during the Indian summer of steam and the heyday of diesel.
Whittaker returns to his roots in this updated edition, casting a sceptical eye over recent developments, catching up with old acquaintances and considering the toll that half a century of ridicule and a couple of decades of privatisation have wrought upon his beloved pastime.
As Andrew Martin notes in his Foreword, this is ‘one of the best books ever written about rail enthusiasm’. Equally it is a poetically written memoir of growing up in a more innocent age, a hymn to British eccentricity and to the virtues of observing the world around you: ‘Spotters – of trains, planes, buses or birds – are a last redoubt for something rapidly vanishing from our lives: looking outward, seeing, observing. People notice things less and less these days, while watching things more and more.’
Praise for the first edition:
‘An elegy: for the steam trains already vanishing when Whittaker’s hobby began in 1964; for the short-lived diesel age which followed; for an era of near innocence.’ Times Literary Supplement
‘Whittaker writes with humour and considerable evocative power … For anyone who will admit to having a childhood brush with this now derided hobby, Platform Souls brings it all rushing back.’ Independent
‘Destined to become the Fever Pitch of the sidings and embankments’ Publishing News
Whittaker returns to his roots in this updated edition, casting a sceptical eye over recent developments, catching up with old acquaintances and considering the toll that half a century of ridicule and a couple of decades of privatisation have wrought upon his beloved pastime.
As Andrew Martin notes in his Foreword, this is ‘one of the best books ever written about rail enthusiasm’. Equally it is a poetically written memoir of growing up in a more innocent age, a hymn to British eccentricity and to the virtues of observing the world around you: ‘Spotters – of trains, planes, buses or birds – are a last redoubt for something rapidly vanishing from our lives: looking outward, seeing, observing. People notice things less and less these days, while watching things more and more.’
Praise for the first edition:
‘An elegy: for the steam trains already vanishing when Whittaker’s hobby began in 1964; for the short-lived diesel age which followed; for an era of near innocence.’ Times Literary Supplement
‘Whittaker writes with humour and considerable evocative power … For anyone who will admit to having a childhood brush with this now derided hobby, Platform Souls brings it all rushing back.’ Independent
‘Destined to become the Fever Pitch of the sidings and embankments’ Publishing News
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 7, 2023
a love letter to the railway.
June 8, 2018
An enjoyable read, although the final few chapters of the revised edition do not add much.
December 23, 2015
Part memoir, part love letter to the railways, Platform Souls is not so much about trains as about life, growing up and nostalgia.
It aims to do for the post war generation what C Hamilton Ellis's The Trains We Loved did for the train lovers of the early 20th century. Whittaker starts his spotting career in 1965 during the dying days of steam, as British Railways embarked on its headlong post-Beeching dash to modernisation, and charts how the railways have been a part of his life - right up to the present day in this revised edition.
It's beautifully written with prose that flows effortlessly off the page and draws you into its world with descriptions that conjure up a scene in a few well chosen words.
It aims to do for the post war generation what C Hamilton Ellis's The Trains We Loved did for the train lovers of the early 20th century. Whittaker starts his spotting career in 1965 during the dying days of steam, as British Railways embarked on its headlong post-Beeching dash to modernisation, and charts how the railways have been a part of his life - right up to the present day in this revised edition.
It's beautifully written with prose that flows effortlessly off the page and draws you into its world with descriptions that conjure up a scene in a few well chosen words.
October 16, 2021
An entertaining, if unevenly written mixture of autobiography and apology for trainspotting. The author's passion for all things rail, especially from the pre-electric eras, suffuses the pages, and I found the tales of 'shed-bunking' the (technically illegal but widely tolerated) practice of entering depot sheds to look at and note the numbers of trains, particularly interesting. The book often misses the mark in its attempts to analyse the origins of the negative perceptions of its subject.
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February 15, 2016A fascinating look at life
It revived my feelings of happiness about railways. I love trains and until 1959 l was a well travelled train spotter. In my 59 years since I always felt like the author about the railways As appropriate tre
It revived my feelings of happiness about railways. I love trains and until 1959 l was a well travelled train spotter. In my 59 years since I always felt like the author about the railways As appropriate tre
January 17, 2010
Great book from the nineties that resonates with me as an ex trainspotter
December 20, 2011
Surprisingly, this is an interesting read. I say this because trainspotters as a group tend to the nerdy and boring.
This book is a great memoir though.
This book is a great memoir though.
April 16, 2017
Just wanted to say would have given it 4 1/2 if possible.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews