Slovenská strela – 1937 ČSD Publication Featuring the Iconic Streamlined Tatra Railcars

Československé státní dráhy / Čechoslovakische Staatsbahnen / Chemins de fer de l’État tchécoslovaque / The Czechoslovak State Railways. Mezinárodní spoje ČSR 22.V.1937–14.V.1938 [International Services of the Czechoslovak State Railways, 22 May 1937–14 May 1938]. Prague: Ministerstvo železnic ČSR [Ministry of Railways], 1937. 4to. 114 [1] pp. Original illustrated hardcover. Text in Czech, German, French, and English. Profusely illustrated throughout with photographs, maps, diagrams, and advertisements, including colour maps of the Czechoslovak and international railway networks.

An especially attractive interwar Czechoslovak railway publication, with a striking photographic cover showing the two celebrated Tatra M 290.0 streamlined motor railcars, better known as the Slovenská strela (Slovak Arrow). Only two of these remarkable trains, M 290.001 and M 290.002, were built by Tatra at Kopřivnice in 1936 for the prestigious Prague–Brno–Bratislava express service.

The publication documents Czechoslovakia's position at the centre of the European railway network immediately before the Second World War, with connections extending from Paris and Brussels through Central Europe to the Balkans and beyond. Illustrated with railway landscapes, stations, rolling stock, tourist destinations, and extensive route maps.

VG condition. Binding and contents well preserved, with only light signs of handling and age.