"It's Quicker By Rail!"

[Mrs Vindecco]

I am mad about these British Railway posters. I have them as reprints, on mugs,postcards and have just decided to buy a book. Often with the added tagline "It's Quicker By Rail", it often advertised a city or holiday destination.







There are tons of them, but here is a few from one my favourite places in the planet... yes I'm THAT sad!

I can point to my old flat in this one... kinda!

[Mrs Vindecco]

[woofy]

These are great! I'm a big fan of ocean liner posters.

[Violet]

These posters are all so gorgeous, Mrs V!

I love the Edinburgh poster, it's so pretty. Edinburgh is such an incredible place. I believe I was in Scarborough when I was little but sadly I have no recollection of it. It looks so dreamy and I really must visit some day.
I love trains! I have travelled through Europe, Canada and the US on trains but I have not travelled nearly enough by train within the UK. I really need to do something about that some day soon!

[Mrs Vindecco]

woofy I really like the Ocean Liner posters too. The Normandie poster is an Art Deco classic. These posters were much influenced by the same style. However I guess the Ocean liner posters were trying to push an image of luxury and style by capturing the romance of the high seas. I like the Railway posters because there slightly more down to earth, attainable. Anyone could jump on the train and go to these very familiar locations. Plus there is something quite classless about these posters. At this period, most people in Britain would still not have a car and these adverts would have appealed to anyone from the professional to the factory worker.

Violet I was going to slag off the British rail network today because it's not always the most enjoyable of experiences. However that would be unfair. I have never been upto to the North of Scotland by train but I hear that is a lovely journey. I just discovered there is a place nearish Edinburgh that do day excursions by steam train. My son loves his choo choo's so hubby and I are thinking of making a day of it at some point, weather permitting. I also loved travelling from Glasgow down the East coast to York. You saw some wonderful views of the Angel of the North, Edinburgh Castle, Berwick Upon Tweed, York Minster and Durham Cathedral as well as some great cityscapes.

Edinburgh is beautiful and I want to go back for the festival, though I'm not sure if my son is really old enough. It's not the easiest of cities to walk about with a young child. At some point I really want to go to the underground vaults. I've tried to get in a couple of times but it has been too busy I used to live in Scarborough so it has a special place in my heart. My husband isn't as keen though .

[woofy]

Rail travel in this country is pretty much terrible. It used to be marvelous, but the advent of air travel pushed the train into the freight business. There are still a couple of regional systems that work fairly well: the N.E. Corridor, the Zephyr, etc., but basically, unless you're traveling between Boston and D.C., you're much better off on a plane.
As far as ocean travel is concerned, the QE2 is the only way to get to Europe. We do have some nice Alaska and Caribbean adventures, but they're comparatively short distance.
Here in Philadelphia we have the rusting hulk of the S.S. United States. It's a kind of ugly reminder of where we used to be and where we've gone.