I’m David Foster, author of Baker Street: The Curious Case Files of Sherlock
Holmes, and in this little video I want to showcase some of Sidney Paget’s splendid
illustrations of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson embarking on their many train
journeys—those elegant little interludes between Baker Street and the scene of
some dreadful crime.
Now, calling steam trains elegant might sound a bit rich. After all, they were
enormous iron kettles spewing smoke and ash. But once you were inside the
carriage, it was another story—hand-crafted woodwork, polished brass, and seats
that looked as though they’d been made to be sat on, not endured. The journey itself
was something to savor. Compare that with today’s trains, where you’re more likely
to savor the aroma of last night’s kebab, admire graffiti of questionable artistic merit,
or dodge a mysterious puddle glistening in the corner.
That’s part of why I love the world of Sherlock Holmes. Yes, there’s murder and
mayhem at every turn, but even in the midst of it all there’s a curious
wholesomeness—a world where travelling to investigate a corpse could still be, well,
rather civilized.
