The World’s Great Rail Journeys describes over 50 of the world’s most exciting, unusual, and exotic railway journeys, including North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australasia, updated to include photographs of new trains travelling on the same spectacular routes. Each journey is accompanied by a route map and is described in terms of the technical challenges of the construction of the track as well as the stunning views to be seen while travelling on the trains. One of the most famous, the Orient Express route from Paris to Istanbul, is historical and no longer possible as a single journey but full details of how to trace the route today accompany the description of the original concept. Other journeys are included because of the exciting countryside they pass through, such as the spectacular railways in the Canadian Rockies, or the challenging nature of the route, such as India’s Darjeeling Himalayan Railways, or the Indian Pacific which runs across Australia from Perth to Sydney.

Brian Solomon was editor of Pacific Railnews for several years before becoming a freelance writer and photographer. He is now marketing manager of the Conway Scenic Railroad. His work has appeared in numerous railway publications and he has authored more than 44 books. He has travelled to ride and photograph railways in more than 30 nations around the world. For this book he has brought together a team of expert contributors, all with firsthand experience of the journeys.