Tracks: A Journey Through Metro-Land tells the story of Metro-land and the development of suburbia that grew alongside the Metropolitan Railway. Originally the brainchild of eminent Victorians, the Metropolitan grew to become the queen of underground lines, eventually expanding to a point some fifty miles outside London. Author Kevin J. Last describes how the concept of Metro-land was an aspiration for several levels of society, promising a better lifestyle well away from the deprivations of wartime. The idea that the working man could live comfortably outside the 'smoke' in individually designed houses would mean that he could also thrive at work, largely due to the regular service offered by the new railway. This was quite exceptional in that, while nominally an underground line, most of the Met's route was above ground and, in length, went far beyond other similar lines, far out into the Buckinghamshire countryside. Not marked on any map, Metro-land is as much a concept of the mind as a real place.
| ISBN: | 9781917458320 |
| Publication date: | 28th January 2026 |
| Author: | Kevin J Last |
| Publisher: | Unicorn an imprint of Unicorn Publishing Group |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 176 pages |
| Genres: |
City and town planning: architectural aspects Urban rail transit systems Trains and railways: general interest Motoring |
Tracks: A Journey Through Metro-Land tells the story of Metro-land and the development of suburbia that grew alongside the Metropolitan Railway. Originally the brainchild of eminent Victorians, the Metropolitan grew to become the queen of underground lines, eventually expanding to a point some fifty miles outside London. Author Kevin J. Last describes how the concept of Metro-land was an aspiration for several levels of society, promising a better lifestyle well away from the deprivations of wartime. The idea that the working man could live comfortably outside the 'smoke' in individually designed houses would mean that he could also thrive at work, largely due to the regular service offered by the new railway. This was quite exceptional in that, while nominally an underground line, most of the Met's route was above ground and, in length, went far beyond other similar lines, far out into the Buckinghamshire countryside. Not marked on any map, Metro-land is as much a concept of the mind as a real place.
Tracks features in the following genres: City and town planning: architectural aspects, Urban rail transit systems, Trains and railways: general interest, Motoring
Tracks is available in Hardback
Tracks was written by Kevin J Last and published by Unicorn an imprint of Unicorn Publishing Group
Tracks has 176 pages
£22.50