"Bashing" used on its own is a general term for a rail trip, excursion or holiday involving train travel and observation. [Wikipedia]

"The forsaken dining car was architecturally miserable, it smelt of frying oil and lemon-scented floor polish; the lighting was unforgiving, bringing out pallor and blemishes; the food was glutinous and the tables were peppered with islands of dried ketchup from the meals of long-departed travellers, yet there was something about this scene that captivated me."

"Every time my mind goes blank having hit on a difficult idea, the flow of consciousness is assisted by the possibility of looking out the window, locking on to an object and following it for a few seconds until a new coil of thought is ready to form and unravel without pressure. At the end of hours of train-dreaming, we may feel we have been returned to ourselves, that is, brought back into contact with emotions and ideas of importance to us."

RAIL "BASHING"