"I Tried to Run A Railway" by Gerard Fiennes

[EbbwJunction1]

I see that this is to be reissued in paperback on 1st June 2017 - here's a link to the Amazon page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-l...0?ie=UTF8&condition=new&qid=1489503403&sr=1-3

I read it many years ago when it came out, and I've always want to to read it again .... it'll have to go on my "wants list"!

 

[ainsworth74]

If anyone hasn't read this it's well worth buying. I got hold of a second hand copy a few years ago for a decent price and it was a very enjoyable read.

 

[EM2]

Got it in hardback for Christmas. It's very illuminating!

 

[Greenback]

I think I'll put that on my birthday wishlist

 

[TheEdge]

Am I the only person who really wasn't impressed by it?

If anything I found it a really hard read due to the way its written.

 

[341o2]

I still have my 1970's paperback, now falling apart and original HB purchased on eBay. Feinnes published this without consulting his bosses and made news by resigning rather than than face dismissal. Been described as an adult Thomas the tank engine

 

[tsr]

I've just found that Amazon are listing (from a number of their third-party sellers, including some in the UK) new hardback copies for only £1-£2 more, available right now. I hadn't noticed this before - in fact, I could be sure it had long been unavailable.

Am I the only person who really wasn't impressed by it?

If anything I found it a really hard read due to the way its written.

I too find the style hard to read, but still fairly interesting.

 

[Welshman]

"I tried......." is also currently available on kindle if you prefer the electronic version.

I have the paper 1973 edition, published by Ian Allan, which cost me the princely sum of £1.10p!! It's front cover has a picture of a deltic driver of D9012 smiling at the camera, whilst Fiennes on the platform is doing something interesting with his right-hand forefinger!

His later work "Fiennes on Rails" published after his death in 1986 by Jean Fiennes, is also a fascinating read.

 

[yorksrob]

I definitely found it a very enjoyable read. The only thing that made it a bit difficult to read at times was in trying to place the chronology. However, he didn't set out to write a railway history book, so for a normal reader strict chronology would be less important anyway.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

This got Fiennes the sack (or early retirement) - Barbara Castle not impressed.

 

[satisnek]

This is great news - I've been looking out for this ever since I bought 'Fiennes On Rails' a while back. I just hope that this reissue isn't full of typos like the Kindle edition is reported to be (funny how typos were extremely rare before the advent of computers...).

 

[LAX54]

I see that this is to be reissued in paperback on 1st June 2017 - here's a link to the Amazon page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-l...0?ie=UTF8&condition=new&qid=1489503403&sr=1-3

I read it many years ago when it came out, and I've always want to to read it again .... it'll have to go on my "wants list"!

2017... or 2018 ? ! .............

This item will be released on 1 Jun. 2018. Pre-order now!

 

[Busaholic]

This is great news - I've been looking out for this ever since I bought 'Fiennes On Rails' a while back. I just hope that this reissue isn't full of typos like the Kindle edition is reported to be (funny how typos were extremely rare before the advent of computers...).

Book publishers used to employ editors, but they are now rarer than hens' teeth.

 

[EbbwJunction1]

2017... or 2018 ? ! ............. This item will be released on 1 Jun. 2018. Pre-order now!

Well, I can't really answer that, but I do know that I borrowed a new hardback copy from my local library last month ... so it is out there somewhere!

I enjoyed it (as I thought I would), although a slight drawback was the references to lots of people that I hadn't heard of and didn't know. But, once I got used to the fact that it originally came out in the late 1960s and covered the thirty odd years before then, it fell into place and was a good read.

 

[plymothian]

Indeed the hardback copy is out there somewhere, I ordered and received it from Waterstones last week.

 

[lyndhurst25]

Hardback copies were on sale at the shop in the National Railway Museum in York last week. I didn't check on the price, as I already have a secondhand copy myself.

 

[plymothian]

£16.99 from Waterstones for the hardback - a bit steep probably for some, but I had a gift card expiring that day so had to use up as much of it as possible.

 

[JohnR]

This got Fiennes the sack (or early retirement) - Barbara Castle not impressed.

No, it was BRB Chairman Stanley Raymond who was not impressed and sacked Gerry Fiennes. Barbara Castle sacked Raymond a few months later!