Publisher's Synopsis
Miles of Track: 55 Years on Britain's Rails
By Geoffrey Zachary
A Memoir of Motion, Memory, and a Life Lived on Time
He never owned a car.But he drove Britain.
For fifty-five years, Stanley Ellis woke before the sun, pulled on his boots, and stepped into the cab of a train. Through fog and freight, signal failures and snow, he quietly kept the country moving-mile after mile, shift after shift, with steady hands and a steady heart.
From his first job shunting in Wolverhampton during the 1970s to his final high-speed passenger run to Glasgow, Miles of Track is a cinematic, deeply human memoir told in 100 vivid chapters-each a story, a memory, a moment of quiet grace. Stan never became a household name. He never chased status. But in the quiet rhythm of his life-routine, responsibility, and the rails-he found something richer: legacy.
With understated British humour, atmospheric realism, and a warm, reflective voice reminiscent of This Boy by Alan Johnson and The Railway Man by Eric Lomax, this book takes you deep into the unsung poetry of everyday duty.
Along the way, you'll ride with Stan through:
- Midnight freight runs and crowded commuter chaos
- Wind-blasted stations and snow-covered branch lines
- A marriage forged in the buffet car
- Retirement reflections, model train obsessions, and walks along disused tracks
- The last entry in the logbook-and the first postcard from Alice Springs
This is a memoir for readers who believe in craft over noise, in showing up without applause, and in the quiet nobility of keeping a nation on track-one journey at a time.
