英国铁路纪行（2010）

1840年，一个人改变了英国的旅行方式。
In 1840, one man transformed travel in Britain.
他叫乔治·布拉德肖，他的铁路指南激励维多利亚时代的人们踏上铁轨。
His name was George Bradshaw, and his railway guides inspired the Victorians to take to the tracks.
他逐站指引人们去哪里旅行、看什么景点、住什么地方。
Stop by stop, he told them where to travel, what to see, and where to stay.
170年后的今天，我将沿着四条漫长路线穿越英国各地
Now, 170 years later, I'm making four long journeys across the length and breadth of the country
探寻布拉德肖笔下英国的遗存。
to see what remains of Bradshaw's Britain.
借助19世纪的铁路指南《布拉德肖》
Using Bradshaw, my 19th-century guide to the railways,
今天我前往英格兰中心——伯明翰
today I'm headed towards Birmingham, at the heart of England,
这座英国第二大城市在工业革命时期的迅猛发展
Britain's second largest city, the metropolis whose growth during the industrial revolution
曾令维多利亚时代的人们惊叹。但此后的变迁或许更为惊人。
astonished the Victorians. But the changes in Birmingham since have perhaps been more remarkable still.
今日旅程中，我将探访世界制革业中心
On today's journey, I'll be heading to the centre of the leather-making world.
沃尔索尔曾以独特臭味闻名？
Walsall had a very distinctive stink?
可以说它有种独特气息
You could say it had a tinge, it had its own aroma.
还将探访伯明翰的"巴蒂三角区"
I'll be travelling to Birmingham's Balti Triangle.
巴基斯坦是我的祖国，而英国是我的养母
Pakistan is like my motherland, and I call England my adopted mother.
试着做得优雅些...
Try and make this quite elegant...
很棒先生，第一次尝试就很出色
Very good, sir. Very good for the first try.
最后将前往被誉为英国最幸福之地的伯恩维尔
And I'll be visiting Bournville, which some say is the happiest place in Britain.
非常惬意，我哪儿都不愿去
Very pleasant. Very nice. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.
此刻我正行进在从巴克斯顿出发的中途
I'm now almost halfway through my journey from Buxton,
沿着英格兰最早的铁路线之一
along one of the earliest railway routes in England.
每天我都在布拉德肖推荐的城镇停驻
Each day, I'm stopping at towns and cities recommended by Bradshaw's guide,
直至抵达终点站伦敦。
until I reach the end of the line in London.
今日路线将穿越西米德兰兹郡35英里
Today's route takes me 35 miles through the West Midlands,
经沃尔索尔至伯明翰，再到伯恩维尔
via Walsall to Birmingham and on to Bournville.
布拉德肖时代，英国三分之一的金属制品
In Bradshaw's day, a third of Britain's metalwork
产自这一带，大多通过铁路运往伦敦
came from around here, and much of it was carried to London on the railways.
首站是布拉德肖记载"以马具配件闻名"的小镇
My first stop is in a town famous for, as Bradshaw notes, "its buckles, spurs and bits".
我现在沃尔索尔，一个曾到访过的地方
Well, here I am in Walsall. Er, a place I've been to before.
据布拉德肖记载，这里以制♥造♥马鞍闻名
But according to Bradshaw, this is a place that makes saddles.
这将带我进入完全陌生的马术世界
And that takes me into a world of horses and riding, which I must say, is a foreign country to me.
尽管铁路兴起，1840年代对马具皮革的需求
Despite the growth of the railways, there was still a huge demand
依然巨大
for leather goods for horses in the 1840s.
沃尔索尔成为高端马鞍、马镫和缰绳的制♥造♥中心
Walsall became the place to go for high-quality saddles, stirrups and bridles.
至今仍是如此
And it still is today.
我来到御用鞍具匠的百年老厂
I've come to the historic factory of the Saddler to the Queen.
在此等候克里夫先生
And here, I'm due to meet Cliff.
早上好 欢迎来到杰比兹克里夫公♥司♥旧址
Good morning. Good morning, Michael. Welcome to the old building of Jabez Cliff & Co.
哇！哈哈！
Wow! Ha-ha!
这里可不算保存完好 确实如此
It's not exactly in mint condition, is it? No, it isn't.
我们在此经营了130年
We were here for 130 years.
两个月前刚搬离
And we moved out two months ago.
有新厂房♥了？ 两英里外的新址
You've got a new place? We have a new place, two miles away.
沃尔索尔为何成为鞍具业重镇？
Why did saddlery become the trade for Walsall?
泰姆河提供充足水源
Well, you have the River Tame for a ready supply of water.
鞣制皮革需要石灰岩
You actually need limestone to cure the hides.
此地也有充足供应
So you had a ready supply of that.
毗邻黑乡地区
We're on the edge of the Black Country,
能获取马镫等金属配件 因为盛产铁矿
so you had all the bits, stirrups, and all the other metalwork. Because you always had iron ore.
铁矿资源丰富 要素一应俱全
You always had iron ore, so everything was there.
当时镇上想必遍布鞣革厂
At one time, then, the town must have been full of tanneries.
确实曾有五家
Oh, yes. I know to a fact that we had five.
从前孩子食欲不振时 大人会带他们到户外...
And years ago, when a child wasn't eating well, they used to take the child outside, and they used to...
打开鞣革池门 让孩子闻鞣液气味
the tan pit doors used to be open, and the child used to get a whiff of all the tan liquors,
相信这能促进食欲
and it was the belief that it actually helped improve the... made the child eat quicker.
所以说沃尔索尔曾以臭味著称？
And so at one time, Walsall had a very distinctive stink, did it?
可以说有种特殊气息
You could say it had a tinge.
独树一帜的气味
It had its own aroma.
现在仍是鞍具之都？ 仍是
It's still a saddlery town, isn't it? It is still a saddlery town.
镇上约剩50家鞍具商
There's about 50 saddlery businesses left in the town.
想参观老厂遗迹吗？ 荣幸之至
Would you like to come and see the remnants of our old factory? I'd love to.
为获得最佳鞍具匠的美誉
The dreadful smell was perhaps a small price to pay
难闻的气味或许只是小小代价
for Walsall's reputation for having the best saddlers.
英国橡树鞣制的皮革尤为抢手
British leather was in particularly high demand because it was made with English oak.
这种木材鞣制速度较慢 但成品更柔软坚韧
This was slower at tanning than other woods and produced a softer, stronger leather.
这里曾是裁剪车间和鞍具工坊
This is where the cutting room and saddle shop used to be.
鼎盛时期这里何等繁忙？
Wow! What did this look like in its heyday? It must have been buzzing with activity.
这张1908年的老照片
I have an old photograph here, taken in about 1908.
是这个房♥间的？
Of this room?
看这位戴圆顶礼帽的先生
Of this room. You can see a man there in a bowler hat.
工人们具体做什么？ 都在制♥作♥马鞍
And what were these people actually doing in here? They are all actually preparing saddles.
不是流水线？ 是计件工作
So this is not a production line. No, no, it is piecework.
当年的工艺精湛无比
Quality in those days was unbelievable.
百年前产量如何？
A century ago, how many saddles might you have been making?
每人每周约做两三个 效率很高
One man might make two or three saddles a week. That's pretty good, it seems to me.
维多利亚时期这里月产500个马鞍
During the Victorian era, Cliff's saddlery could produce around 500 saddles a month.
如今新厂产量仍相当
Today, in the company's new factory, that number is very similar.
沿用单人全程制♥作♥模式 但缝纫机等现代技术
Interestingly, the same system is still used - one person makes each saddle from start to finish.
提高了效率 减少了人力
But modern technology like the sewing machine means they can be made more quickly by fewer people.
这些都是贵重商品吧？
We're talking about valuable products here, aren't we?
当年广♥告♥显示批发价约42先令
Oh, yes, but in those days... I know I have some photographs somewhere, where in an advert,
现在呢？ 价格不可同日而语
I think a saddle was selling for, trade price, I might add, was going for about 42 shillings. And today?
远超当年
It's a lot more than that.
当火车取代马车时
It was feared that the saddle industry would be destroyed
人们曾担忧鞍具业消亡
as trains replaced horses for transport.
维多利亚晚期仍有300万匹马
Even in late Victorian times, there were still over 3 million horses pulling cabs,
用于出租马车、农场和骑兵
working on farms and in the cavalry.
直到一战後汽车普及
It wasn't until after the First World War, when cars became popular,
鞍具商才被迫转型
that saddlers were forced to diversify.
我们开始生产足球
As trade changed, we actually started making footballs.
高尔夫球袋
We started making golf bags.
一战期间甚至制♥造♥
In the First World War, we were actually making
皮革鱼雷外壳
torpedo cases, in leather,
用于潜艇鱼雷投放
that they could actually lower the torpedoes into the submarines.
为哪方制♥造♥？ 当然是英国
For which side? For the English side, of course.
胜利的一方
For the winning side.
这是当年缝合足球的工具
This item here is actually what they used to knock the seams on of the footballs.
带系带的老式足球？
These are the old footballs with the laces?
比赛用球...
These are the ones that when they played...
浸水後异常沉重
Weighed an awful lot. When it got wet...
头球可能导致严重受伤 确实危险
If you headed it, you'd get a very nasty injury. Oh, yes, very nasty.
都用这个工具制♥作♥
And it was all done on that.
家族传承多少代？
How many generations of your family?
目前七代 我是第六代
We are now seven. I am generation number six, with a brother and a cousin.
两位侄子现已接♥班♥
And I have two nephews who are now in the business.
其中一位是董事总经理
One being the MD.
世代相传的技艺
The transfer of skills through the generations
与顺应变革的智慧
and the saddle industry's willingness to embrace change
让这个行业延续辉煌
have ensured that it is still successful today.
正如布拉德肖时代 沃尔索尔仍以高价精品马鞍闻名
Just as in Bradshaw's day, Walsall still has a reputation for providing quality saddles at luxury prices.
现在我要赶火车前往第二站
Now, I've got a train to catch to my second destination.
该启程了 前往伯明翰
Time to get on. On to Birmingham.
前往英国第二大城市 仅十英里之遥
I'm on the next leg of my journey to Britain's second city, just ten miles away.
伯明翰是我熟悉的城市
Birmingham is a city I know well.
我曾代表伯明翰佩里巴尔选区
I once tried to get into Parliament for Birmingham Perry Barr.
竞选议员未果
And was unsuccessful.
布拉德肖用大量篇幅描述这座英国第二大城
Of course Bradshaw devotes pages to Britain's second largest city.
尤其对新街火车站充满热情
And in particular, he was excited by New Street,
这座市中心的宏伟车站
the vast railway station at the centre of the city.
"这些建筑堪称当代最伟大的工程杰作"
"These structures are entitled to rank among the most stupendous architectural works of the age.
"注意列车进出站引发的喧嚣场面"
"Notice the turmoil and bustle created by the excitement of the arrival and departure of trains.
"人群穿梭 行李搬运"
"The tramping of crowds and passengers, the transfer of luggage,
"钟声鸣响 三百名工人的忙碌声响"
"the ringing of bells and the noise of 300 porters and workmen.
"伯明翰中♥央♥车站每日呈现的非凡景象"
"An extraordinary scene, witnessed daily at Birmingham Central Railway Station."
与今日如出一辙
Just the way it is today.
可惜布拉德肖盛赞的拱顶
Sadly, the roof that Bradshaw so admired was destroyed,
在二战伯明翰大轰炸中与城市一同损毁
along with much of the city, during the Birmingham Blitz of World War II.
1960年代重建的车站在我看来阴暗压抑
Today's station, built during the 1960s, is to me a somewhat dark and depressing construction.
你常来新街车站吗？
Do you ever use New Street Station?
觉得外观如何？ 需要改进
Yes, I do. What do you think of it? I mean, the look of it. It does need improvement.
这是我见过最丑陋的车站立面
Looking at it from here, it strikes me as one of the ugliest frontages to a station