‘We sat in a heap on the platform as the train pulled out, our sons still in their pyjamas’

A swift disembarkation, champagne on tap and a mysterious message in Italian were among your memories of great rail journeys

ALL THE TEA IN CHINA

On the 32-hour train journey from Beijing to Chengdu, we shared a compartment with Mme Li, a middle-aged Chengdu lawyer returning from visiting her family. Reserved at first, she became more open later and was scathing about misogyny and corruption in China.

Mme Li introduced us to what became our staple diet: “eight-treasure porridge”, a nutritious blend of beans. We crossed the great Yellow River – at its summer low, so disappointing. In Chengdu we took tea with Mme Li and her husband in Kuanhe Tea House, before parting with real emotion. That long journey had forged a friendship which is still strong today.

David Syme, Edinburgh

LANGUAGE LESSONS

“È pericoloso sporgersi”. We thought that was an exotic kind of pasta and wondered why it was engraved on a metal plate by the window. To our parents’ annoyance, we shouted the phrase in increasingly Italian vernacular, oblivious to its meaning: “It is dangerous to lean out”.

We loved the overnight train ride from Calais to the Midi. The term couchette was a misnomer, as we were far too excited to sleep. Instead, we ran up and down the corridors, thrilled at travelling in such opulence. I can still recall having soupe de poisson and feeling so sophisticated. Forget the Orient Express. These were childhood memories etched in stone.

Richard Symonds, Kent

MOTORING ALONG

At Kandersteg, in the Swiss Alps, we bought two Motorail tickets to Italy. Each wagon held three cars and was covered by a tarpaulin, open at the sides. We applied the handbrake – and off we went, munching on bread and cheese as the train ascended. We were surprised at Brig to be told to drive off the wagon and up the platform, then onto a second train. Later we passed through a long, dark tunnel, listening to the tarpaulin flap in the dark.

Finally we burst into the sun in Italy and stopped at Domodossola. The platform was rather different from Switzerland, the staff waving laconically, cigarettes in mouths, as locals overtook along the platform. Susan Sinagola, Cheshire