What was wrong with just going to his local? Father visits every railway station themed-pub in Britain during five year tour of the country Real ale enthusiast spends five years touring Britain's railway pubs Pubs include setting of British film classic Brief Encounter and a railway carriage built in 1876 Other pubs include the last licensed on track pub on the London Underground After five years touring railway bars there is a chance that you could lay claim to having completed the longest pub crawl in the world. That claim can now be made by Bob Barton who decided to go to every train station pub in the country after being made redundant. Although he says he has never been a train spotter, the former journalist with Visit Britain's love of steam engines led him to discover hundreds of often unusual pubs and bars at various railway stations around the country. Brief Encounter: The Refreshment Rooms at Carnforth Train Station near Lancaster featured in Brief Encounter The Steamhouse: This pub is sat on Station Road, Urmston, Greater Manchester. Bob Barton has spent five years visiting railway based and themed pubs The Signal Box Inn: This diminutive pub, opened in 2006 and claims to be the smallest on the planet. The claim is contentious, but more than four customers seated and two standing does make it rather crowded Among the pubs that Mr Barton found was one that had been Queen Victoria's former private waiting room. He also found the bar which was the setting for the film classic Brief Encounter still in immaculate condition 80 years after the film was made. In Lincolnshire he found a old signal cabin that claims to be the smallest pub in the world. A pre-war parcels van; a gas-lit ladies" waiting room; and a wooden carriage that was built in 1876 have all also been converted into public houses. The Middy Bar: This pub is in the mid-Suffolk Light Railway, Wetheringsett, near Stowmarket, Suffolk - it is housed in a wood-bodied passenger coach built in 1876 The Station Buffet Bar in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester The Trackside free house in Bolton Street, Bury, Greater Manchester is another example of the unusual pubs and bars Bob Barton has visited Mr Barton of Hayes, West London, said: "I have always been a real ale, pub and railway enthusiast so I wanted to do a project that would encompass those loves. I have never seen the appeal of collecting train numbers but I think that over the last few years I have become a railway pub spotter. In fact there is a real culture of people who want to tick off visiting as many as they can, in the same way that they collect numbers of trains that they have spotted. There is a real affinity between real ale and railway enthusiasts and these pubs are a testament to that. The Snug MicroPub: This pub at Carnforth Train Station near Lancaster certainly lives up to its name The Refreshment Rooms: This pub was the scene for much of the film Brief Encounter The Trackside free house: This pub can be found in Bolton Street, Bury, Greater Manchester The variety and incredible history of the hundreds of pubs linked to the railway network in this country is amazing. Writing in "Unusual railway pubs, refreshment rooms and ale trains" the divorced father of two said: during the 19th century, a new generation of railway pubs on and adjacent to stations became the successors to coaching inns, for which the railways had sounded the death-knell. 'Now there is a growing phenomenon of steam hauled Ale Trains on heritage railways, and so many of the old railway rooms are being refurbished,' he added. The Euston Tap: This pub at Euston Station in London sits inside a pair of stone lodges which once complemented the long lost Euston Arch. It now serves as speciality beer and cider house The Mallard Pub: This station pub sits on Dingwall station in the Scottish Highlands. The Railwayman's Arms: This Bridgnorth pub on the Severn Valley Railway has been open continuously for more than 150 years One of Mr Barton's favourite pubs highlighted in the book is the Centurion at Newcastle Central Station. The bar was built in 1893 as a sumptuous waiting lounge for first class passengers , a major feature being its exquisite tiling which is today worth an astonishing £3.8million. The lounge and its bar closed in 1960s, when the British Transport Police began using it. It was taken over by a pub company in 2000 and is now thriving as a pub again. Other favourites are the Euston Tap and Cider Tap pubs in north London. Both are located in lodges outside Euston railway station in London that used to flank the impressive Euston Arch. The arch is considered by some as the first great monument of the railway age. Mr Barton is also a columnist for nostalgia magazine Best of British and co-author of The Rainy Day Book. Unusual railway pubs, refreshment rooms and ale trains is available now published by Halsgrove. Trackside: The Trackside free house in Bolton Street, Bury, Greater Manchester The Railway pub: This pub at Kew Gardens station is the last licensed 'on platform' pub on the London Underground Station Bar: This pub at Wemyss Bay, Renfrewshire is an immaculate example from the Edwardian era on Scotland's most beautiful station