Hop aboard this fascinating journey through the early days of railway trains to the modern-day superfast maglevs, which can reach speeds of 600 kilometres per hour. Exquisitely illustrated with hundreds of photos, both archival and modern, Quest for Speed: A History of Trains from Rocket to Bullet and Beyond is a visual feast for anyone interested in railways.

This is a journey through time that criss-crosses the world, investigating trains that were considered high-speed back in their day. Focused at first in Britain, the birthplace of the railway, the book covers developments in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries across Europe. This includes the French TGV, which was inspired by the early Japanese Shinkansen—the Bullet Train—and is credited with kick-starting the modern rise of the high-speed train in the West.

American and Canadian trains from the 1930s also feature in the book, including awe-inspiring steam monsters but also the svelte diesel rail cars that revolutionized rail travel before World War Two. The book documents the many attempts at higher speeds since then, which generally did not achieve the ultra-high speeds that have become the norm in some parts of the world today.

From steam to diesel to gas turbines to electric, it’s all covered, including significant, recent innovations such as driverless trains and maglevs (magnetic levitation trains) on conventional track, which may well be the way of the future.

With hundreds of colour photographs and text aimed at all those interested in history and the development of technology (not just railway enthusiasts), Quest for Speed will entertain, fascinate and delight.

Derek Hayes is the author of the bestselling Historical Atlas Series, which includes the Historical Atlas of Canada, Historical Atlas of Vancouver and the Lower Fraser Valley, Historical Atlas of Toronto and Historical Atlas of the United States. He holds two degrees in geography and worked for a time as a planner with the Vancouver City Planning Department and as a real estate consultant. He lives in White Rock, B.C.

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