Unfortunately not a review of 
Leiji Matsumoto&#x27;s &quot;Galaxy Express 999&quot;, or of Kenji Miyazawa&#x27;s &quot;Night on the Galactic Railroad&quot;, or even the wonderful animated film based on the latter.
Even so, it&#x27;s a nice review of a book on the history of British railways.<p>&quot;...I lack the trainspotter’s enthusiasm for locomotives, and I’ve had some horrible journeys on that train. But the theatrical grandeur of [a locomotive&#x27;s] arrival always alters my sense of my surroundings, as if a door had opened, offering a glimpse of an intricate, sprawling structure normally not seen at all, and never perceptible as a whole except through some transcendental sleight of imagination: the railways.&quot;