Great railway maps of the world by Mark Ovenden (Particular Books, £20) (From York Press)

Great railway maps of the world by Mark Ovenden (Particular Books, £20)

2:26pm Wednesday 7th December 2011 in Books By Bill Spence

THE author is a graphic designer who relishes everything to do with travel.

One can sense he thoroughly enjoyed compiling this book of glorious detailed maps, photographs and posters from all eras running alongside fascinating details about railways throughout the world.

He tells us that the basic ‘track’ concept started with the Greco-Roman Empires but the railway as we know it started in the early 1800s. The opening section on how to use the book, points out that in certain countries railway maps have never existed, while surprisingly countries such as Greenland, Chad and Yemen have never had tracks laid. Railways, however, opened up new trading routes, new towns and cities and even changed our concept of time, for, before the Industrial Revolution each area had their own time zone based on their position of longitude.

This is a sumptuous book, a visual delight, and deserves to sell well, especially in the Yorkshire region where we have the National Railway Museum in York. And it was the North that gave birth to the train system as we know it.