Author Archives: Paul Rennie

I was recently given a small group of colour slides of French Railways from about 1960. They look as though they were part of an educational presentation, for staff inductions maybe, that describe the idea of progress and development on … Continue reading →

The BBC iplayer is showing this early work by dramatist Stephen Poliakoff. The story is set on a cross-European railway service. The Ost-West express was a once-a-week service that connected Ostend (Belgium) with various cities across Europe. The train was … Continue reading →

The Guardian ran a piece about the how Indian railways are proposing to replace the historic jacket styl3w of their employees. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/15/is-it-the-end-of-the-line-for-one-of-indias-most-distinctive-garments

Railway publishing is a thing. The 19C railway journey provided the perfect environment for reading…and gave rise to a particular kind of writing that was exactly matched to the circumstances of the journey. The new railway novel was self-assuredly sensational, … Continue reading →