Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations

by Simon Jenkins

I t is the scene for our hopeful beginnings and our intended ends, and the timeless experiences of coming and going, meeting, greeting, and parting. It is an institution with its own rituals and priests, and a long-neglected aspect of Britain's architecture. And yet so little do we look at the railway station. Simon Jenkins has traveled the length and breadth of Great Britain, from Waterloo to Wemyss Bay, Betws-y-Coed to Beverley, to select his hundred best. Blending his usual insight and authority with his personal reflections and experiences—including his founding of the Railway Heritage Trust—the foremost expert on Britain's national heritage deftly reveals the history, geography, design, and significance of each of these glories. Beautifully illustrated with color photographs throughout, this joyous exploration of social history shows the station's role in Britain's imagination; champions the engineers, architects, and rival companies that made them possible; and tells the story behind the triumphs and follies of these very British creations. These are the marvelous, often undersung places that link the nation, celebrated like never before.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Railways, Reference, History, Architecture, Trains

432 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2019

About the author

Sir Simon David Jenkins, FSA, FRSL is the author of the international bestsellers England’s Thousand Best Churches and England’s Thousand Best Houses, the former editor of The Times and Evening Standard and a columnist for the Guardian. He is chairman of the National Trust.

Reviews

[Richard Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with the other collections of Simon Jenkins' favourite buildings this is a joy to read even if you are not immediately interested in railway stations (note railway not train stations) or railways. I had to exercise a lot of self control not to read it at a sitting so I could spin out the delights I found. Inevitably there is more than enough scope to disagree with his choices and some judgements but that is what makes the book so worthwhile. Once you have read it, you should be well informed on the development of railways, their impact on commercial architecture and their importance in the communities they serve.

[Kitty · Rating 5 out of 5]

vana pea ei pea enam asju kinni, aga just hiljuti lugesin kuskilt ütlemist, et "for people who are into that kind of thing, this is exactly the kind of thing they're into". vot ei tea, kes seda ütles, aga väga ilusti öeldud ja selle raamatu kohta käib täpselt.

selgub, et mulle briti raudteejaamad väga meeldivad. häbilugu muidugi, et selle selgumiseks pidin raamatut lugema, sest kontrollisin üle, umbes kolmandikus neist "100 parimast" jaamast olen isiklikult viibinud, paljudes isegi väga tihti (Londoni raudtee- ja metroojaamad on tugevalt esindatud, pluss selgub, et ma olen rongiga ikkagi peaaegu igal pool käinud siin saarel). aga kas ma nende arhitektuuri olen kunagi märganud - ega ei! (uusaasta puhul siis annan lubaduse, et võtan edaspidi jaamades nina raamatust välja ja vaatan ringi.)

Jenkinsi enda entusiasm on muidugi ka täiesti nakatav, tõesti armastusega kirjutatud raamat on. algab kenasti ajalooülevaatega briti raudteede tekkimisest, tõusust, langusest ja uuest tõusust (tasub lugeda, sest edaspidises jaamakirjeldustes viidatakse sellele tihti, pluss üldiselt ka äärmiselt huvitav mu meelest). selgub, et autor on ise raudteefirmas töötanud ja osade jaamade säästmisesse või taastamisse ise suure panuse andnud. ja siis on jaamad, igaühe kohta pilt või paar pluss väga detailne kirjeldus ajaloost ja arhitektuurist (ma tean nüüd väga mitut ingliskeelset arhitektuuriterminit, millest piltide abil enamvähem aru saan, aga eesti keelde küll iialgi tõlkida ei oskaks).

nii ilusad pildid. ja nii ilusad jaamad.

[David Bisset · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating mixture of architecture and railway history with many pertinent comments and glorious photography.. Railway stations are architecturally important. Hopefully this book will open our eyes!

[Richard Hakes · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have no love of trains and particularly no love of train stations do not read this book or even look at it. You will find nothing of interest. However if you do you will find plenty of inspiration that is unless you know all about it already in which case just look at the pictures. For the knowing there is no inspirational new understanding and the pictures mostly stock photos so no great work of art was undertaken. A pleasant read and nice pictures all the same.

[Andy Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely excellent book in which Simon Jenkins shows the respect, admiration and love that he has for Britain’s railways, especially its stations. As the founder of the Railway Heritage trust and a former board member of British Rail and Transport for London, Jenkins certainly knows his stuff and he puts his knowledge to good use in describing the origins of his 100 best stations and the many brilliant engineers and architects who made them happen. Many of his ‘hot 100’ are beautiful constructs and Jenkins celebrates here both their aesthetic looks as well as their functionality. Reading the book makes you want to jump on a train to go and explore these treasures. Of course, you’d need a ticket where you can break your journey if you want look at them at your leisure, a ticket which anyone who uses today’s rail network regularly would tell you, is not always the cheapest or even available at all! Notwithstanding that, anyone with an interest in history, transport or architecture will find this book a very interesting read. Come to think of it, anyone with an interest in the industrial and commercial development of the UK will want to read this excellent book too.

[Frank Callaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is this a book written for the aficionados of railways or of architecture? Possibly both.
I have a passing interest in railways and sadly, tho' am keen on architecture, know very little of the styles and terminology in use to describe periods and features.
This knowledge is more than useful if you read this book. It lavishly, and interestingly describes stations. large and small, in mostly architectural terms. It also has a smattering of poetic leanings to landscapes and settings.
Despite my ignorance of such phrases as French Italianate, or of baroque or porticos or ridge and furrow, I really enjoyed the read, and the meaning mostly became clear from the context of the writing. There are plenty of beautiful photographs of facades and architectural details, and the writing, whilst academic in its content, is sufficiently lyrical and poetic in places, to be absorbing.
Because each station is attributed just one or two pages of text, you can pick this book up and read as much or as little as you want.
Overall this took me several weeks to read but I did so interpsersed with another large book, also on railways. And despite that, I really am not a railway nut!

[Adam Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simon Jenkins is an attractive and erudite writer and this book is his choice of the 100 best railway stations in the UK. The introduction, which contains a brief history of the development of the railway in Britain and its near destruction in the sixties is very interesting. Less interesting are some of the descriptions of the station buildings especially as some of the features being described, in technical architectural language, cannot be seen in the accompanying pictures. It becomes apparent that a number of the stations featured in the book are only operating on heritage railways run by volunteers and some are not in service at all. What could have been made clearer by some additional diagrams is the exact position of each station on the network, whether or not it is in operation i.e. served by trains and if so, run by which company. A brief description of the destinations directly reachable from each would also have been nice.

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this half price, which is just as well, as it's not worth forking out full whack for. It's a good enough coffee-table book, but doesn't go into much detail about the stations. I agree with most of the 48 stations chosen I have been to, but not Birmingham New Street! The platforms are still a dismal lightless hole, whatever improvements have gone on above. And Liverpool Street and Manchester Victoria really only count as half a good station each (and the new roof at Victoria leaks). St. Pancras has always been my favourite - boring and conventional choice, I know, and yes, the domestic platforms are a bit poor, but the roof and the hotel (not to mention the Betjeman Arms) outweigh all faults. If I was going to add a station to the 100 it would be Birmingham Moor Street, a lovely contrast to the pits that are New Street and Snow Hill.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not my usual type of book, but I saw it in the library and was attracted by the beautiful cover photo. If you like trains, train travel, train stations, travel in general, armchair travel, or architecture, this book will appeal to you. As the title states, it covers the 100 'best' stations in Britain. The photography is incredible, colorful, with close-up detail photos as well as plenty of two-page spreads. Gorgeous! The books includes history of most of the stations, with details or the architects and builders. Thus, it provides lots of info on the overall history of trains in Britain, with several references to familiar names, most notably Isambard Kingdom Brunel. As someone not a train enthusiast, but with interest in travel and architecture, I really enjoyed this book.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

c2017 (3) FWFTB: institution, celebration, imagination, development, undersung. Written by somebody whose love and passion for all things railway comes shining through. Lovely to look at pictures and good wordies to boot. Although this following comment from the Evening Standard referred to a different book written by the author, it totally reflects my feeling for the book, ie ".more than simply informative; he can be courteous and rude, nostalgic and funny, elegant, convincing and relaxed.". Highly recommended to the normal crew. "(Laurence Olivier) had fought a long and successful battle to retain kippers but could not save the train."

[Nigel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lavishly illustrated delight for those who love train travel and have an interest in railway architecture. There is a neat summary of this country’s rich railway before decline, cuts and privatisation but the main focus is on individual stations, both large and small with a fascinating variety of architectural styles and local idiosyncrasies.

[Ashley Barratt · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Betjeman would approve of this book, although, no doubt, his list of 100 Best would be different as is mine. That's the point: Simon Jenkins does a stirling job in adding excitement to the everyday and mundane.

[Stephen Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great escape into a world of beautiful architecture and the magic of the railways. If you read it front to back it moves nicely from the big, busy London termini to the fine stations of northern England and then to the quaint rural halts of Wales and the Scottish highlands.

[Kent Khurniawan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading the book as it portrays the very best of Britain railway stations. Though I have not visited most of these railways, the book provides me snapshots of railways beauty and makes me feel I am there without leaving my comfortable chair.

[C P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful photographs. You immediately want to tour the UK to look at all those stations!

[Gabriele Della Torre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libro che presenta le stazioni più spettacolari o particolari della nazione che ha inventato la ferrovia.

[David Killington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Post-lockdown destinations a-plenty!

[Stuart Dormer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book

Very good very enjoyable but it only about the big station I would a book about country station if probable

[Martin Blake]

If you're not interested in railways and railway architecture, you won't bother to pick this book up. I loved it. Jenkins admits it's a personal selection, but how could it be otherwise? I could have done without some of his personal opinions (who cares what he thinks about wind turbines?), but it's still a splendid book.