Train Tracks Work, Play and Politics on the Railways

This book provides an in-depth exploration of trains and train travel. Letherby and Reynolds have conducted extensive research with all those concerned with trains, from leisure travelers and enthusiasts to railway workers and commuters. Overturning conventional wisdom, they show that the train has a social life in and of itself and is not simply a way to get from A to B. The book also looks at the depiction of train travel through cultural media, such as music, films, books and art. The authors consider the personal politics of train travel and political discussion surrounding the railways, as well as the relationship trains have to leisure and work. The media often paints a gloomy picture of the railways and there is a general view that the romance of train travel ended with the steam locomotive. Letherby and Reynolds show that this is far from the case.

Gayle Letherby is Associate Head of Subject/Deputy Director of Centre for Social Justice, at Coventry University.

Gillian Reynolds is a Senior Researcher at Coventry University.

Introduction: The Train Now Standing * Signs and Signals: The Place of the Train in Culture * Points and Branch Lines: Locating the Train in Theory * Clocking On?: Working Patterns and the Train * All Aboard the Play Station: Leisure and the Train * 'Punters', 'Shunters' and Cargo: Personal Politics and the Train * Leaves on the Line: The Politics of the Train * Conclusion: Re-Visiting: Brief Encounters
Introduction: The Train Now Standing * Signs and Signals: The Place of the Train in Culture * Points and Branch Lines: Locating the Train in Theory * Clocking On?: Working Patterns and the Train * All Aboard the Play Station: Leisure and the Train * 'Punters', 'Shunters' and Cargo: Personal Politics and the Train * Leaves on the Line: The Politics of the Train * Conclusion: Re-Visiting: Brief Encounters