- “Dishonesty Is The Second-Best Policy and Other Rules to Live By” by David Mitchell
- “Michael Palin In Venezuela” by Michael Palin
- “Happiness: Lessons From A New Science” by Richard Layard
- “The People on Platform 5” by Clare Pooley
- “Encyclopaedia of Narrow Gauge Railways of Great Britain and Ireland” by Thomas Middlemiss
Started: 5th January 2026
Finished: 29th January 2026
3/5 stars
Picked this book up at my local heritage railway. It claims to cover every narrow gauge railway in the British Isles, but there’s at least a few missing, and the criteria for why they’re missing aren’t entirely clear. The main omission is the Post Office Railway (aka Mail Rail), an automated underground railway that carried mail in London. It was still operational at the time the book was published, and it seems very strange it’s not there.
However, this gripe aside, it’s an interesting read and contains information on lots of narrow gauge lines I’d never heard of, some of which were very short-lived. There’s lots of great photos as well. The book was published in the late 80s, so it’s not up-to-date, and therefore doesn’t mention restored services on the Lynton & Barnstaple and Welsh Highland Railways, but it’s still a useful work for modellers and historians.
It loses a star for omissions and a rather poor entry on the Glasgow Subway, which has no photos and doesn’t mention the major modernisation of the late seventies. It’s still a good reference work, though, so if you see a copy at a decent price, it’s worth picking up.
