Railways

Off the Rails: a gripping but flawed book about HS2

A review of Off the Rails, The Inside Story of HS2 by Sally Gimson. (Oneworld, 2025)…
Swindon’s Mechanics’ Institute: my letter in The Times

The Mechanics’ Institute in Swindon, Wiltshire, is symbolic of the Victorian belief in self improvement. It…
Why London’s rail termini are so far from the centre

If you’ve arrived at London’s Kings Cross station in the rush hour only to endure a…
To Dublin by rail and sea

For the first time in 28 years, I’ve travelled to Ireland by train and ferry. It…
Kenneth Grange: the designer who made the InterCity 125 HST an icon

British Rail’s High Speed Train caused a sensation when it burst onto the scene in October…
Centenary of Britain’s Big Four railways

The LNER rail company has been celebrating its centenary this week, with this splendid video: I…
Memories of Penrhos Junction, Caerphilly

It’s curious how certain places exert a disproportionate influence on our thoughts. More than 40 years…
In praise of journalist Ian Jack

We’ve lost a fine writer and observer of British life and politics with the death of…
Steam’s graveyard: Barry island memories

I was too young to remember seeing steam engines on the mainline, but I had a…
COP26: the end of King Coal?

It was a symbol of Welsh industrial might: a locomotive hauling a coal train that seemed…