Benedict Le Vay is a national newspaper sub-editor who has worked in four continents but wrote his first book, Eccentric Britain, more or less by accident after collecting oddities about his home country. He says he was 'staggered' by the response, which included media attention from the Shetland Times to Gulf Radio and publicity tours in America and New Zealand. He describes himself as a frankly rather ordinary father of two, and is hard-pressed to think of anything eccentric about himself. 'At a push, I'd say, yes, I'm Honorary Secretary of the Friends of A272, and I've asked for my ashes to be blasted from the chimney of my favourite steam locomotive at my funeral. Hasn't everybody?'

TRAINSCOTTING! Scottish superb superlatives Who is this book for? A lot of people How to use this book Planning your trips THE IRON MEN & THEIR IRON ROAD: FROM BRILLIANT PIONEERS TO THRILLING TRAINS Waggons roll! Scotland's oldest railway The first 'proper' lines open Thrills & spills in a dramatic century Going loco on World Records GREAT ARRIVALS: THE FAMED MAIN LINES Getting to Edinburgh: The East Coast Main Line Getting to Glasgow: The West Coast Main Line THE CENTRAL BELT: EDINBURGH & GLASGOW Glasgow to Edinburgh via Falkirk: The quickest & best route Other Edinburgh-Glasgow routes: Shoppers, stoppers & shockers The Cathcart Circle: Glasgow Central to Glasgow Central The Fife Circle: Edinburgh Waverley to Edinburgh Waverley Seaside excursions: Two great days out from Scotland's two big cities FIRTH TO LAST: EDINBURGH TO ABERDEEN Edinburgh to Dundee: Bridges to adventure Dundee to Aberdeen: Loch, dock & a smoking barrel SCOTLAND GOES ON HOLIDAY: GLASGOW TO AYRSHIRE & DUMFRIES The Glasgow & South-Western Main Line: To the land of 'Oreo cows' & a romantic anvil The Ayrshire Coast Line: I'll take the Troon train! The Inverclyde Line to Gourock: In the tracks of heroes BORDERING ON THE BRILLIANT!: THE BORDERS RAILWAY South from Edinburgh: Home on the Grange Onwards to Tweedbank: A Gala affair THE WORLD'S MOST SCENIC RAILWAY: THE WEST HIGHLAND LINE Glasgow Queen Street to Crianlarich: From lowland bustle to empty highlands in a few miles Crianlarich to Fort William: A lucky horsehoe, the last great wilderness & a gorgeous gorge Fort William to Mallaig: Outrageous beauty & concrete evidence The Oban branch: Awe-inspiring ruins, a rock piano, the magical route to Mull & the Holy Islands SUMMIT SPECIAL: THE HIGHLAND MAIN LINE Inverness to Perth: Along Britain's highest railway Perth to Glasgow Queen Street: Stirling work WHISKY & CANALS: THE GREAT NORTH OF SCOTLAND RAILWAY The route described THE MOST BEAUTIFUL LINE IN EUROPE: THE SKYE LINE From feudalism to internet-age democracy in just 150 years Inverness to Dingwall Dingwall to Kyle of Lochalsh WONDERFULLY REMOTE: THE FAR NORTH LINE Inverness to Lairg: From the slightly Ord to the deeply loopy! Lairg to Wick & Thurso: Two for the price of one APPENDIX ONE: ROMANCE & RIVALRY ON THE RAILS Poetic rails Further information APPENDIX TWO: STEAMY AFFAIRS Steam railways Steam museums Steam operators