Kicking off a special final section of Railway 200 features to round off our year of anniversary celebrations, TIM DUNN looks at how art has long been used to romanticise and promote Britain’s railways

The railway revolution opened up new destinations, expanded our culinary horizons and dramatically improved trade. Jonathan Self takes us on a whistle-stop tour of ‘railway mania’

The myriad tracks and carriages of the British rail network have proved fruitful inspiration for generations of writers, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee

TIM DUNN takes us on a journey through cinematic history - with the railway as the ultimate muse

The railway has always provided inspiration for sounds and rhythms in music, from early concert hall waltzes to rock’n’roll records and beyond, says CHRIS EDWARDS

Railways gave criminals a vast pool of people from which to target victims - and at the same time offered a new, fast means of escape and a chance to remain anonymous. TONY STREETER and GEORGE DENT don their deerstalkers and head back in time…