MY LOVE AFFAIR with rail travel began in 1965 when my parents and I emigrated from Scotland to Australia. My first memory of a rail journey was the Glasgow-London-Southampton trip heading south to join our migrant ship to Sydney. I remember looking out the window towards the front of our train as we negotiated a bend, and I can still remember seeing the locomotive at the front pulling us along.
Fast forward to 1975 and Paul Theroux releases his amazing book "The Great Railway Bazaar". Not only did this book whet my appetite for rail travel for the rest of my life, the first sentence in the book summed up my life as well - "Ever since childhood, when I lived within earshot of the Boston and Maine, I have seldom heard a train go by and not wished I was on it."
As a result of that book, in 1983 I caught my first long-distance train in Australia, the Brisbane Limited Express from Sydney to Brisbane, and continued onto Cairns in Northern Queensland. I have never looked back. I think I'm on my 5th copy of 'The Great Railway Bazaar' and it's a great talking point with fellow strangers. Over the years I have handed over four copies as a gesture of good will to fellow travellers. I hope Theroux appreciates this.
Even now, when I'm travelling, I make a point of visiting the local station to see whats arriving and leaving. If I can't be on that train as it rumbles through the night, I can imagine what it would be like to wake up in a foreign city after a night on the rails.
Train travel is the backbone of this website and my Youtube channel Planes, Trains, Everything. Even now, if I am passing through my local Glasgow Central station late at night, and I see the Caledonian Sleeper sitting at a platform ready for it's overnight journey to London, I look at it with envious eyes. I might spot someone hauling their bag down the corridor as they are checking the compartment numbers for their overnight berth... "and not wished I was on it".
END-TO-END - This has, by far, been the most adventurous rail journey I have ever taken and will probably take. I started at the Portuguese station of Vila Real de Santo Antonio, and passed through Faro-Lisbon-Hendaye-Paris-Cologne-Berlin-Warsaw-Minsk-Moscow-Irkutsk-Ulaanbaatar-Beijing-Shanghai-Nanning-Hanoi and ending in Ho Chi Minh City. This is the longest continual rail journey on the planet, and I recorded the journey on Youtube. Would I do it again? You bet!
LNER: London to Scotland: This was to be my first Ride on the new LNER Azuma train, from London Kings Cross to Edinburgh Waverley, Scotland. I managed to get a 50% discount on a 1st class ticket, and explain how split ticketing works. The journey was magnificent, although there was carnage in the 2nd class carriages. Something had gone terribly wrong.
SLOW TRAIN TO EDINBURGH: There are 5 direct rail journeys from Glasgow Queen Street low level station to Edinburgh Waverley. I decide to catch the slowest service which takes twice as long as the quickest. I had never travelled on this line before, so come and share the experience with me.
1ST CLASS TO GLASGOW: I decided to catch CrossCountry from Edinburgh Waverley to Glasgow Central, and bought a 1st Class ticket as I had never travelled first class with that operator before. However, things didn't go according to plan with a re-route and delay. I also witnessed the press event for the launch of Open-Access operator Lumo from Kings Cross to Edinburgh Waverley.
STANSTED AIRPORT to LONDON VICTORIA: It's not the quickest way, but it is the most expensive way to travel from London Stansted to London Victoria.
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300 METRES OF MADNESS: This is a little bit of fun. Glasgow's two terminal stations, Glasgow Central and Glasgow Queen Street, are located just over 300 metres apart. Abellio operates the Scotrail franchise (for now), and the bus service linking the stations. Why is it better NOT to use the bus, and NOT to try catching a train.
Here are some trains from my travels.Rail Travel
