Trans-Canada Rail Guide
by Melissa Graham
’If we cannot export the scenery, we shall have to import the tourists’, said the General Manager of Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885. The surviving trans-Canadian train services remain popular tourist attractions, and no other mode of travel so well conveys a sense of the country’s vast size, and through untouched wilderness.
This is the fully-revised third edition of Trailblazer’s guide to the journey, aimed at rail travellers of all budgets. As well as a 24-map route guide, information about train services and ticketing details, there are city guides and maps for eight major stops. The 240-page book recounts the political significance of the trans-continental railway in holding Canada together, as well as histories of the places passed along the journey. ISBN 1-873756-69-0. £10·99.
Trailblazer, The Old Manse, Tower Road, Hindhead, Surrey, GU26 6SU, UK
Tel: +44 1428 606399
Tracks to Disaster
by Adrian Vaughan
First published in 2000, this book by a former British Rail signalman turned railway historian reviews significant UK railway accidents since 1975.
The 176-page revised paperback edition has been updated to include the 1999 collision at Ladbroke Grove, but not the Hatfield derailment of October 2000 which had major implications for the whole UK rail industry. The book includes a number of ’near miss’ incidents which Vaughan uses to highlight potential failings in modern working practices which he believes are less safe than traditional operational methods.
Extensive quotes from the staff involved give a good insight into modern railway operations from the perspective of the front line. ISBN 0-7110-2985-7. £12·99.
Ian Allan Publishing, 4 Watling Drive, Hinckley, Leicestershire, LE10 3EY, UK
Fax: +44 1455 233737
midlandbooks@compuserve.com
