Date: 28/10/2012

In this era of leaves on the line, protests over High Speed 2 and malfunctioning franchises, it is hardly surprising that rail passengers hark back to a golden age. With Michael Portillo, Bradshaw guide in hand, taking to the European rails, railway nostalgia once the province of spotty boys with notebooks on windy platforms at Clapham Junction has become all the rage. Indeed, earlier this year the reissued 1863 Bradshaw guide, used by the former Tory rail minister on the domestic excursions that formed his first TV series, became a surprise bestseller.

External links

The rise of rail nostalgia

Telegraph

Ahead of a TV series about great continental journeys, Christian Wolmar recalls railways vintage years

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//1964 Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney)

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