On the Tracks of the Thames-Clyde Express

There was nothing quite like the Thames-Clyde Express. Covering well over 400 miles, its route stretched from the dreaming spires of London’s St Pancras via the Shires of England, the legendary Settle-Carlisle line, Walter Scott’s Border Country and finally into Glasgow – the Second City of Empire. It never offered the quickest journey between England and Scotland, but it was undoubtedly the most scenic. A former signalman on the tracks of the Thames-Clyde Express, David Pendleton has written what he terms ‘a love letter’ to this famous named train. Rather than a text ending on the sad day in 1975 when the last train reached its destination, he instead views its history and the route it traversed from a present-day perspective. Here is a rich mix of anecdotes and observations, including attractions and oddities either visible from today’s train services or within easy reach of principle stations.