A new book that charts the history of the island’s railway service is to be launched next week.

The Bermuda Railway, published by the National Museum of Bermuda examines the short life of the service with hundreds of rare historic photographs, maps, tourist snapshots and plans.

Elena Strong, the director of the NMB, said: “The legacy of Bermuda’s railway survives through the remnants of its track, a trail that passes through some of Bermuda’s best scenery, with views so beautiful it’s nearly impossible not to stop and stare.

“The Bermuda Railway book brings awareness to the history of our beloved railway and to the history of Bermuda as well.

“It is a great addition to the growing corpus of NMB Press books on Bermuda’s history and heritage.”

The Bermuda Railway outlines the railway’s role in the development of tourism and the creation of military bases on the island.

The book, written by Canadian historian and Bermudaphile Simon Horn, a regular visitor to the island, will be launched at the National Museum on Dockyard next Thursday.

Mr Horn will outline his research and answer questions from the public at the virtual launch, scheduled to start at 5.30pm.

The writer, who has a background in history and political science, was born in the UK and moved to Canada as a child.

He has visited Bermuda every year since 1995 and has maintained the Bermuda Railway Pages, an online guide to the service and the Railway Trail, from 1998.

The book is available from The Bermuda Bookstore, the Bookmart at Brown & Co., both Hamilton, as well as online at www.nmb.bm/shop and at the museum’s ticket office when Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.

To register for the online launch event, visit https://nmb.bm/whats-on/.