Bradshaw's Descriptive Railway Hand-Book of Great Britain and Ireland : Old House Books : 9781908402028 : 1908402024 : 10 Jan 2012 : Collector's item, landmark in the history of the tour guide, snapshot of Britain in the 1860s ? Bradshaw's Handbook deserves a place on the bookshelf of any traveller, railway enthusiast, historian or anglophile. Produced as the British railway network was reaching its zenith, and as tourism by rail became a serious pastime, it was the first national tourist guide specifically organized around railway journeys, and to this day offers a glimpse through the carriage window at a Britain long past. Bradshaw's Descriptive Railway Hand-Book of Great Britain and Ireland was published in four parts, describing the sights to be seen in towns and cities encountered along selected railway journeys in each region. Gathered together into a single book, it bore the short title Bradshaw's Handbook and after a few years, passed into obscurity, remaining extremely rare t