Customer Rating: 

This is a witty and informative account of the state of Britain's railways and why they are the way they are.

Customer Rating: 

When the British have to find conversational platitudes, in the apparent belief that these are better then silence, their usual topic of first resort is the British weather. Next after that is Britain's railways -- like the weather, this subject of discourse invites inane and stereotyped criticism, receives conventional and thoughtless assent, and provides a handy and inoffensive way of closing down a dialogue that has nowhere further to go.

On the other hand, there is more than one category of Briton for whom the railways are a matter of intense interest, sometimes verging on fanatical. Matthew Engel's very interesting new book seems to be directed at two such classes, those whose interest is historical, antiquarian or nostalgic, and those who see railways as a serious political and social issue. Engel hangs his tale round a long journey taking in as much of the surviving network as possible. This occupies most of the book, it is full of picturesque details and digressions, and it conveys the feel and 'flavour' of rail travel in Britain in the noughties quite well and fairly, so far as I can judge from my own less systematic sampling. This is the stuff for the anoraks and enthusiasts among Engel's readers, a category in which I had better include myself.

You can belong in this grouping and also among the serious-minded so far as British railways are concerned. The author belongs in both classes, I like to think that I also do, and I am in no doubt that the whole matter is now better understood than before among the British public generally, simply because it impinges more directly on increasing numbers of us, and when it does it is no side-issue far less any joke. Matthew Engel takes time out from his easy-going railway safari, or Odyssey or whatever we choose to call it, to offer a thoughtful and quite penetrating analysis of the history of our railways since the war, the politics of the last 3 or 4 decades, and the the shape of railway things to come. For me, this is what puts the book in the 5-star league. History being history, you can always dissent from this or that individual judgment or from any particular piece of assessment. However I shall risk the view that Engel is going to get a lot of thanks from quite a few people for helping to focus and concentrate our thinking.

What was wrong with thinking about the railways, he explains, is that there was little or no thinking about the railways. They just plodded on without anything much in the way of 'management' as we might understand the term nowadays. Were they a public service like health electricity and water, or should they be meeting some kind of financial targets? If anyone was asking, nobody much was listening let alone attempting an answer. They were subject to fashion and superficial perception, the fashionable perception c 1960 being that they were 'losing' a lot of money. The towering and visionary insight started to prevail that Something Must Be Done, something was done, and I don't propose to summarise what it was here, because it is Matthew Engel's account that deserves to be read and considered with proper attention.

Whatever you think of The Reshaping of British Railways in the 1960's, it's hard to disagree with the view that the privatisation of the railways in the 90's was a gratuitous PR exercise by a government that had no real agenda -- good God, do you remember the Cones Hotline? As just above, don't let me spoil Engel's account of that exercise and what has followed it. I shall say only that he does not take political sides.

Now here is something odd. The early origins of Britain's railways were about as devoid of planning or strategy as can be imagined. The Reshaping had a strategy, albeit a blind and bad one overly influenced by contemporary thinking and missing altogether the imminent expansion of passenger rail travel consequent on road congestion. Privatisation was another shambles. Governments were at fault, managements were at fault, the civil service were at fault. However in the wars Britain's chaotic network gave Britain's war effort better support than Germany got from its own methodical planning. I suspect that we, the public, were most at fault of all. If we had just gone along with our Heath Robinson sprawl of lines and actually used the service more, complaining as we did so, then urban, rural and road planning might have followed instead of obliterating much of the system. Just think of the saving to both the taxpayer and the environment.

Customer Rating: 

This excellent book is a must for all who are interested in the railways in the UK from their early days in the 19th centuryEleven Minutes Late: A Train Journey to the Soul of Britain up to today and is also likely to be enjoyed by many other readers. It is easy to read and has appealing humour. Nearly all of us are likely to use the railways more in the future, and the book will help each one of us to contribute to their future development.

Charles Wickham-Jones
(born 1927)

Customer Rating: 

Part history, part nostalgic whimsy and part epitaph for a once great industry Matthew Engel's account of the how's and why's of Britain's railways is an enlightening and entertaining read from the first page to the last. Using the epic journey from Penzance to Thurso as his excuse he explores every corner of a complex and, at times totally illogical industry from the 1830s of Stephenson right through to the absurdities of privatisation and Major.
As an employee of the industry from the last days of B.R. to the present I found much of Engel's book amusing in the no-nonsense way he tells the story of the boom years of the 1850s when railway companies were being formed literally from promises and lies through to the Beeching era when brutal economics overshadowed nostalgia and local service. I also found myself empathising with many of Engel's conclusions about how the industry has always seemingly been sacrificed by one train-hating politician after another and how the resulting lack of investment made it a cheap and easy target for the profit hungry train operators we see today.
In the end Engel makes no bones about who he blames for the mess that the rail industry has become. He blames us, the British people for allowing our politicians to tinker in affairs they know - or care - too little about and for allowing profit and greed to be put before your (and my) safety. It is to Matthew Engel's credit that he has salvaged some rare humour from the political wreckage and presented it in such an affectionate and educating manner.

Customer Rating: 

An amusing historical look at the railways of Britain from their inception to the present day with plenty of anecdotal information as well as being factual - it made me laugh out loud on quite a few occasions - it dispensed information in not too heavy a manner - if the ladies want a book to help them understand their menfolks' hobby, this is the book for them. A very good book indeed and well worth the purchase price.