Coincides with the 200th anniversary of the modern railway - with a foreword by Pete Waterman

"As a railwayman's son I am chuffed to write a book in celebration of trains for the bicentenary year of the world's first public railway. Covering every aspect from the Victorian railway mania, the heyday and end of steam, the railway at war and my boyhood passion of trainspotting, to the triumph and debacle of HS1 and HS2."

Dedicated 'Puffer Nutter' Paul Routledge has loved trains all his life. Whether it's chugging along on a scenic steam railway or whizzing through towns and fields to the other side of the country, for Paul it has never lost its magic.

A journalist for nearly 60 years years and Daily Mirror columnist for 27 of those, Paul has written regularly about the joys of train travel.

Now the country is set to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the modern railway - The Stockton & Darlington Railway opened on September 27, 1825 - when better to pen a love letter to trains?

Looking at everything from the earliest days, fascinating stories, famous faces and future of the railways, Paul's ode to trains is a must-read for any railway fan as well as those enthusiastic amateurs who just want to know a little more about transport they possibly take for granted.

Paul Routledge is a political columnist and a Fleet Street legend who has been writing for the Mirror since 1998. Born in Yorkshire, he is the son of a railway clerk and studied at Nottingham University, where he read English, Routledge began his career in journalism on graduation. He has written biographies of Gordon Brown, Peter Mandelson, Arthur Scargill and Airey Neave.