The Romance of Train Travel
Mapping the route. Photograph by Norbert Schoerner.
I have always loved travelling by train. I remember the old ‘Red Rattlers’ that were still running in Melbourne in the 1970s – trains from a bedtime story with wooden interiors and high-backed seats. You could travel with the doors open and the wind whizzing through your hair.
Yesterday I returned to Melbourne from the country via train, a trip of about four hours. It was a more modern train, and I had my iPod plugged in, my iPhone to entertain me should I need it, and a Grazia magazine in my bag. Yet I found more romance in leaning back in my seat and staring out the window; daydreaming while the Fred Williams landscape swooped past.
I found more romance in … daydreaming while the Fred Williams landscape swooped past.
The ultimate train journey would have to be the Trans-Siberian Express from Vladivostock to Moscow, although I’m not sure I would be quite as glamorous as pictured in these photos by Norbet Schoerner, torn from British Vogue*. I certainly won’t be wearing tracksuits with a bumbag slung around my hips, but I doubt I’ll be retiring for the night in cashmere knickers and a Stephen Jones rabbit-ear hat, cute as it is!
Click on images for larger version.
Bartering for vital supplies … drinking coffee and contemplating greasy eggs
Supper in the cabin: caviar, tea, vodka
Asleep in the cabin … Messing about as jet-lag starts to kicks in
Breakfast in the restaurant car … dressing in cashmere
* Issue date unknown.