trains – Stanfords Blog

Author Event: Station by Christopher Beanland

Last night we hosted an event with renowned travel and architecture writer Christopher Beanland as he spoke about his new book Station: A Journey Through 20th And 21st Century Railway Architecture And Design published by Batsford.

Guest Post from Clare Hammond author of ‘On the Shadow Tracks: A Journey Through Occupied Myanmar’

Being a map and travel bookshop, we are famous for showing people the world from the comfort of their armchairs. When we can’t travel somewhere, we really rely on maps, books and travel writers to help us learn about the history of a country and its people so we can keep ourselves informed. A perfect example of this is Clare Hammonds new book On the Shadow Tracks: A Journey Through Occupied Myanmar. Here she shares with us some things she has learnt while travelling by rail around Myanmar.

Tips for rail travel in Myanmar

By Clare Hammond

In 2016, while working as a journalist in Myanmar, I came across an obscure map that showed a web of new railways spanning the length and breadth of the country – railways not shown on any other publicly available maps at the time.

It inspired me to pack a small backpack and set out on a three-month journey to piece together the story of why these mysterious railways were built. This journey would transform my understanding not only of Myanmar’s modern history but also of Britain’s colonial past. I hope my new book, On the Shadow Tracks, will inspire others to discover more about this shared history, including by (one day) travelling to Myanmar. Which brings me to my first tip for rail travel…

Book of the Month: Slow Trains to Istanbul

Our Book of the Month is Slow Trains to Istanbul by Tom Chesshyre.

From London via Paris, Naples, Nuremberg, the Swiss Alps, Budapest, Athens and into the furthest corners of Eastern Europe across Romania and Bulgaria, join Tom Chesshyre on his fascinating journey to Istanbul and back.

Ever dreamt of dropping everything and adventuring cross-country to the edge of Asia? That’s just what Tom Chesshyre did, hitting the tracks for a 4,570-mile adventure on 55 rides, shadowing the old Orient Express route.

Interrailing was once the realm of young backpackers setting off to “find themselves” – and for many, it still is. But it’s also a joyful and eco-friendly twenty-first century adventure that’s open to us all, no matter our age or agenda. Dodging striking train drivers in Germany, getting stuck by the Bulgarian-Greek border, and negotiating tricky passport officials in Turkey is all part of the fun in this illuminating and meandering journey around Europe.

Europe by rail awaits. The freedom of the lines awaits. Why not hop on board?

Author Biography

Tom Chesshyre is the author of eleven travel books, the latest telling the story of a 379-mile hike around the Lake District. He has travelled 40,000 miles around the world for his train books; most recently for Slow Trains Around Spain: A 3,000-Mile Adventure on 52 Rides. His book writing has also taken him across North Africa after the Arab Spring, round the “dark side” of the Maldives on cargo ships, along the length of the River Thames and on a journey through “unsung Britain” (in To Hull and Back). He worked on the travel desk of The Times for 21 years and is now freelance, contributing to The Critic and New European magazines. He lives in London.

Slow Trains to Istanbul is available now for £20

Watch Tom Chesshyre introduce his new book:

120th Anniversary of the Stanford’s Map of the Siberian Railway

One of the most popular maps in our cartographic archive, The Stanford’s Map of the Siberian Railway was first published by Edward Stanford, Long Acre on the 1st February 1904 making this year its 120th anniversary.

“Not only is this a geographical map, it’s a historical one. A moment in time as well as space.” –Colin Thubron.

Depicting the great land route to China and Korea, this vital rail route was also known as the Moscow Highway or the Tea Route because of the large quantities of tea exported from China. It connected European Russia to Siberia and China.

Map of the Month: A Travellers’ Railway Map of Europe

All Aboard! Take to the tracks and see Europe via the most scenic routes rail travel has to offer.

Our Map of the Month for September 2022 is A Travellers’ Railway Map of Europe. Presenting the Continent in a series of six maps with their enlargements, including ten city maps indicating locations of their main railway stations and a map of the high-speed network.

Children’s Book of the Month

Stanfords Children’s Book of the Month for November 2021 is The Trans-Siberian Railway Illustrated by Anna Desnitskaya, Text by Aleksandra Litvina.

A gloriously illustrated journey through Russia along the length of the Trans- Siberian railway.

Slow trains coming…

by Tom Chesshyre

Tom Chesshyre took to Spain’s clickety-clack railway lines for a 3,000-mile adventure on 52 rides described in his new travel book and our Book of the Month for April, Slow Trains Around Spain. Here is a taster of his journey:

Book of the Month: Slow Trains Around Spain by Tom Chesshyre

Between soaring mountains, across arid deserts, parched plains and valleys of fruit orchards and olive groves, down glittering coastlines and along viaducts towering above plunging ravines – there is no better way to see Spain than by train.

In our Book of the Month for April, Slow Trains Around Spain: A 3,000- Mile Adventure on 52 Rides Tom Chesshyre hits the tracks to take in the UK’s most popular travel destination through carriage windows on a series of clattering rides beyond the popular image of ‘holiday Spain’ (although he stops by in Benidorm and Torremolinos too). Heading wherever the trains take him in a big S-shape around the country, Tom slips into the rhythm of the tracks meeting characters aplenty along the way. From hidden spots in Catalonia, through the plains of Aragon and across the north coast to Santiago de Compostela, his journey takes him onward via Madrid, the wilds of Extremadura, dusty mining towns, the cathedrals and palaces of Valencia and Granada, and finally to Seville, Andalusia’s beguiling (and hot) capital.

Scotland From The Rails

To celebrate the launch of Scotland From The Rails, author Benedict le Vay takes us on a wee journey to explain exactly what makes seeing Scotland from the rails such a special experience.

Scotland is, truth be told, a land of railway superlatives. As well as the most scenic line in the world, it offers the most romantic rail journeys in Britain. The highest main-line summits. The longest bridge. The highest railway viaduct. The longest and boldest spans. The greatest manmade wonder, some would add. The most famous railway bridge in the world. The two grandest British main lines (one end of each, that is). The most northernly station in Britain, and the most westerly too. The most successful standard-gauge timetabled steam service. The best railway reopenings and electrification projects. The most complex sleeper operations. Some of the friendliest staff, and the loveliest – and sometimes downright quirky – station buildings. And for icing on the cake, or rather cream on the cranachan, some utterly charming preserved lines, steam centres and luxury excursion trains, which cruise through this magnificent land.

Around the World in 80 Trains: Stanfords Travel Writing Festival 2019

When Monisha Rajesh announced plans to circumnavigate the globe in eighty train journeys, she was met with wide-eyed disbelief. But it wasn’t long before she was carefully plotting a route that would cover 45,000 miles, almost twice the circumference of the earth, coasting along the world’s most remarkable railways from the cloud-skimming heights of Tibet’s Qinghai railway to silk sheeted splendour on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. Continue reading Around the World in 80 Trains: Stanfords Travel Writing Festival 2019