We grumble about our railways, believing that the Golden Age of rail travel is long behind us.
Despite strikes, delays, cancellations and a general slump in the standard of service, it's worth remembering that, even in the late 20th century, closed compartments, without access to corridors, gave passengers, especially lone travellers, justifiable anxiety - as the extract, below, from Simon Bradley's book demonstrates.
On 21 September 1871, passengers in a second-class carriage of a Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway train between Wigan and Liverpool overheard an argument in an adjacent compartment, followed by some loud bangs.
When the train stopped at Kirby, the guard and a porter opened the door of the compartment, which had its windows closed and was full of gun smoke. Inside were the bodies of Robert Wanless,…
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The Oldie (Digital) - 1 Issue, January 2025