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Great Railway Journeys of the World

 Oh what does a covidised homebody to do?  Esp mua that does not partake in the omnipresent social activity of FB or IG or its ilk.

Read or research or watch the telly of course.  

In doing the aforementioned research on random things in the whole wide world using what else but the www I stumbled on a documentary produced by the BBC.  

That docu series happened to be scratching me where it itches.  A passion of mine - perhaps inculcated in me by my late father who was a train buff and loved timetables - train travel.

Thanks to a silicon valley invention called Youtube I can now board a whole bunch of train journeys without leaving my bed.

They are broadcast under the larger brand titled 'Great Railway Journeys' but are localized versions based on which part of the world the protagonist on the show is traveling.

I have so far watched a few called - 

BBC's Great Canadian Railway Journey

Great British Railway Journeys 
Great Continental Railway Journeys
Great Indian Railway Journeys

The host or narrator in this case is a retired British MP called Michael Portillo.  You would not be wrong to typecast him and think he was a homosexual based on his manners and clothing style but it turns out it is all done to add some flamboyance to the sometimes soporific train journey.



Also he stands out in a crowded street shot in say India.  LOL.  Using a early 19th century handbook titled Bradshaw's (the author and creator of many railway timetables of the era) he points out the history of a place and how Bradshaw - proxy for any Briton - might have viewed the world a 100 years ago.

This guide is the equivalent of the tripadvisor website a century ago but with a bias towards what English tourists might have wanted in their travels.

I was introduced to many an unknown historic trivia or gem of a natural wonder during the course of Michael's travels. 

On the India journeys one of the memorable legs takes him from Lucknow to Kolkata.
A curious observation is of the only legal Opium factory run by the Govt of India.  Turns out to be the largest legal opium manufacturer in the world.

Another is of the Chittaranjan locomotive factory on outskirts of West Bengal and finally the largest railway platform in India at Kolkata.

This is also where he hops in to a canary yellow Ambassador taxi - a quintessential travel appliance with a good horn but points out that the British gearhead would recognize it as a Morris Oxford from yesteryear (circa 1950s).

I am adding this route to my bucket list.

The video also highlights what he said in an interview about his role - travel makes you explore the opposite of who you are in your workaday life.  It lets you loose and nourishes.
I could not agree more.



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