“Strongholds of Romance”

“How odd that trains; which were going to be the end of romance in transport, and the ruin of the countryside—remember how Wordsworth inveighed against them (though he bought railway shares on the quiet), and Ruskin, too?—are now one of the last strongholds of romance, and their viaducts and bridges honoured features of a landscape that is scarred and befouled with petrol pumps and exhaust fumes! (states the “London Star”).

“Yes, the railways have captured the glamour of travel, and made good use of it, too. But I wonder if the time has not come to get back to the elemental pleasures of going by train.

“I think if I were publicity officer for the railway systems, I should put streamlined engines and showerbaths and cinemas and barbers’ shops and all the modern amenities aside for the time being.

“And I would concentrate first of all, on the blessed peace of travelling by train, in a little world of your own, with another, fluid world, a quiet pastoral England for the most part, slipping past the window. How different from the never-ceasing strain of a car drive, with the sensation of being a mere atom in a maelstrom, with traffic swirling and seething around you!

“It can be quieter in a railway compartment than in a city office. I would find out how many men, for instance, who travel between London and Brighton every day, do their work, and some of their best work, in a carriage morning and evening, and then I would publish the results to a startled world.

“And I would point out how easy, how delightful it is to sleep on a train by day, rocked as in a cradle by the endless oscillation of the carriage. I would tell the story of my friend who frequently travels up to Manchester and always sleeps as far as Rugby, when it is time for tea.

“That is one of the major pleasures of his life. I would make of ‘Waking up for tea at Rugby’ a slogan, a poster, a romance.”