History of the World in 500 Railway Journeys

by Sarah Baxter

History is everywhere, and is never as complete as when it can be accessed on a part of history itself. The locomotive is one of the great steps in progress of civilisation that undoubtably connects us to land and history that was shaped by the machine itself. Although a basic form of railway, or rutway, did exist in Ancient Greek and Roman times - notably the ship trackway between Diolkos and the Isthmus of Corinth around 600 BC - it would take several thousand years before the first fare-paying passenger service was launched in the early nineteenth century. Some two hundred years on, it is possible to travel by train to some of the world's most remote and remarkable destinations, and track the many wonderful legacies of the Earth's extensive history - man-made and otherwise. From prehistoric rock formations to skyscraper cities, slow steam engines to high-speed bullet trains, let A History of the World in 500 Railway Journeys be your guide. Through its beautifully illustrated pages, and 500 awe-inspiring railway journeys, you can chart your own transcontinental itinerary through time. Chug through canyons, steam past ancient monuments, speed through cities, luxuriate in the railcars of presidents and queens, or make express connections between key historical moments or epic eras, A History of the World in 500 Railway Journeys has it all. A must-read for travellers, railfans and history buffs alike, offering inspiration and information in equal measure.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, History, Trains

400 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2017

About the author

Sarah Baxter is a writer, book author and editor specialising in travel, adventure, history and the great outdoors. In the name of exploration, she's climbed Kilimanjaro, snorkelled with killer whales, eaten sheep's brain, walked on the wings of a bi-plane, descended into an Icelandic volcano, learned to salsa in Barcelona and much, much more. Formerly deputy editor at Wanderlust travel magazine, she now writes for a range of outlets including The Telegraph, The Independent, iPaper, Wanderlust, Sunday Times Travel magazine, Country Walking and others. She has also authored many books, including A History of the World in 500 Walks, The Inspired Traveller's Guide to Spiritual Places and Lonely Planet's Where to Go When.

Reviews

[Marc Lamot · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a wonderful journey around the globe, by train. Baxter presents 500 trips by train in all parts of the world: some of them long, others very short; some out of use, others still very busy; some in the remotest parts of the globe, others in big cities. There's a lot of diversity in this book, but it's always fascinating. The author has tried to connect the train-trips with some period in history (riding through a prehistoric cave on a mini-train in France for example), but that's not always a succesful combination. But what the heck: this is a hell of a book for railway-addicts!

[Steve Maxwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trains across continents, countries, over deserts and mountains, revealing histories of civilisations long gone.

This is a wonderful read for those who are interested in history or want to plan their next holiday.

There are plenty of Aussie trains featured, including Indian Pacific, The Ghan,the Cockle Train (South Australia), Puffing Billy (Victoria), and Spirit of Queensland.

[Helen Cazadora De Libros · Rating 4 out of 5]

A ver, preguntas: ¿a quién no le gusta viajar en tren?, ¿quién no querría dar la vuelta al mundo así?... pues si eso es lo que te apetece, puedes hacerlo con este libro.
.
Una recopilación de los trenes más famosos de la historia de la humanidad, su recorrido, sus paradas, su antigüedad...todo lo que necesitas saber sobre ello, pero sin aburrirte.
.
Te muestran imágenes del interior del tren o del mejor paisaje que puedas ver a través de sus ventanas.
.
¿Quieres conocer la historia del Orient Express?.. ve a la página 280.
.
¿Sabías que en Camboya hay trenes de bambú? ... descúbrelo en la página 141.
.
¿Qué tal Transilvania?¿nos vamos a visitar al Conde?... página 161
.
400 páginas que no quería esperar hasta terminarlo para enseñarlo y así poder agradecer a la editorial que me lo enviaran. Porque este libro hay que leerlo despacito y visitar cada noche buscando detalles.
.
Una delicia para tomarla a sorbitos.

[Shallowreader VaVeros · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book. Each section covers a historical timeline, with suggested rail journeys focusing on that particular time's history. Thorough research, infinitely interesting .

[Barry Avis · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book includes descriptions, of varied detail, of 500 railway journeys across the world. Some have two or three pages, often with colour photos of the view or trains on the journey, and others are small ‘sidebar’ descriptions that just provide minimum details such as location and length. The book sis split into six chapters from “Prehistory” to “20th Century and Beyond” with a, sometimes tenuous, link to that subject.
If you are travelling somewhere and want to see if there are any heritage lines or trains with a spectacular view or some historical significance then you can use this book as a guide. It covers trains such as the one that goes over the bridge on the river Kwai or the fastest training in the world then this will be a useful source of information.
Unfortunately, the format of the book leaves a lot to desire. The premise of some of the chapters such as pre-history is tenuous at best. I also did not like the fact that to read the lines in order you have to flick back pages, For example line 112 “Rome-Syracuse” is on pages 100 to 103 but lines 113 to 116 are on page 101. Some of the descriptions seem to end only to continue to the next page after you have already read descriptions for subsequent lines. Another annoying thing are the descriptions of lines that have already closed, not yet open or are not even railway lines such as the Underground Railroad used to help slaves free the south in America. Although this is something to celebrate it is not an actual railway. I also felt at times that I was reading about a line already described earlier under a different name. I felt it would have been much better to divide the chapters by geography which would then make using the book as an information source easier also.
Overall I felt the descriptions were ok but not great and the formatting was fairly annoying and there are railways in the book that no longer or have ever existed but I will use this as a guide before traveling to see if there are any significant railway lines.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it was a mistake to read the walking edition first. Whilst still an interesting reference book, this one is less immersive and it feels like she struggled to get to 500, with a several of the journeys either fictitious or not yet built.

[Dominika · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars