De Noord-Brabants-Duitsche Spoorwegmaatschappij,
de Vlissinger postroute

Subtitle		Cover picture
Author	Vincent Freriks, Hans Schlieper
ISBN	978-90-71513-65-7
Publisher	Uitgeverij Uquilair
Published in	2008
Language	Dutch
RRP	€ 30,00
Price paid	€ 30,00
Date	2008
Seller	Uquilair
# Pages	304
Size	24x34 cm
State	New
Review

A hefty book covering the entire history of the NBDS railway, the smallest of the four remaining railways after 1890 and operating only one, albeit important, line from Vlissingen to Goch (Germany).The first three chapters form a lengthy introduction to the railway's origins and backgrounds with in depth political issues. Maybe these chapters are interesting for politicologists but I cannot imagine that the majority of railway enthusiasts read these chapters with much delight. In the remaining chapters lengthy discussions about the financial developments, which typify the history of the railway, drag on and on. The coherence of the various subjects in the book is not all to clear, worstened by the fact that the book does not offer a full diagram of the entire railway with dates of opening. A map of the railway in its international context is tucked away on page 298, which the reader is likely to discover only after struggling through the entire book. Add to that a rather sloppy use of Dutch spelling and writing and you have a book at hand which will captivate only the most dedicated of railway fans from cover to cover. Absolute pro of this book is the large number of unpublished or at least uncompiled photographs. The book is complete as complete can be and sheds light on a relatively unknown part of the history of Dutch railways.