Dutch station scenes: Zwolle (left) and Arnhem Centraal (right). The train is the IC Zwolle to 's-Hertogenbosch - a fine rural cross-country route.

A tram on the Rua Augusta in #Lisbon , at the end - or the beginning should you wish to travel it in reverse - of Route 23 from the 17th edition of #EuropebyRail …

Photo © Angelo Cordeschi / Dreamstime

End of the line: Kampen in the Netherlands, served by half-hourly regional trains from Zwolle on a lovely branch line that crosses water meadows by the River IJssel.

Rotterdam Alexander: now only served by metro and NS local trains. But 50 years ago there was a direct train from Moscow to here. Occasional long-distance trains to Hoek stopped here (instead of Centraal). It's a bi-level station.

The Man In Seat61 l’Isle sur sorgue Fontaine de vaucluse. 30 mins by TER from Avignon Centre. EuropeByRail

EuropeByRail Did this route in February and was fantastic

In the last week of April 1961 - some 63 years ago give or take a few days - a survey of passenger numbers was connected in Britain that would lead to Richard Beeching’s 1963 report. (1/4)

Photo © Motherhupit / Dreamstime

Sightseeing from the platform… the bomb-damaged Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin, as see from platform 3 of Zoo station…

You will experience Prague’s main station on a couple of the routes in our book. The two journeys are very different in character, but each well worth your time - from urban exploration across four countries to a deep dive into rural Czech Republic and Germany…

47) A reminder of our route, inspired by the brilliant book EuropeByRail by NG & SK. We would follow Route 9 up the Rhine Valley to Zurich & then Route 40 over the spectacular Bernina Pass to Italy. Also, many thanks to Richard Clarke for showing me this was possible & advice.

The railway is a fine way to take the pulse of Portugal and Route 23 is designed to do just that. Route 23 is the sole journey in our book which crosses the Spanish-Portuguese border as you follow the coast from Santiago de Compostela to Lisbon: europebyrail.eu/online-route-m…

EuropeByRail Shortest stretch of railway in The Netherlands.

EuropeByRail It makes a handy connection for the ferry when going to Utrecht.

EuropeByRail We lived in The Hague in the late 70s. I had a client in Den Bosch but got on the wrong train coming back & ended up in Nijmegen. I phoned my wife to tell her I’d be late but that there were actual real hills there!

Passengers deterred by poor timetabling… you can read our piece on train services in the pre-Beeching era on our website under European Rail News & Notes: europebyrail.eu/1961-train-ser… (4/4)

Route 31 takes in the Bohemian Byways between Prague and Nuremberg, including spa towns, lots of great options for coffee and cake, and some lesser travelled corners of Bohemia and Bavaria: europebyrail.eu/online-route-m…

You find online route maps for many of the journeys in Europe by Rail… a good way to get a feel for the many and varied types of routes that you will find in our book. Explore them on our website: europebyrail.eu/online-route-m…

Route 32 is called Four Capitals in a Day, although you might want to take your time given the potential stopovers. Beyond Prague, the route also takes in Hamburg, Berlin, Dresden, Bratislava and Budapest: europebyrail.eu/online-route-m…

On the #EuropebyRail website we took a look back at the pattern of train services which prevailed in the time of the Beeching Report. Some lines, such as Penistone to Barnsley, were closed (but happily reopened in 1983). Others were not so lucky… (2/4)