My Favourite Railway Stories by Paul Jennings DJ 1982

$25.00

RailroadTreasures offers the following item:

Hard Cover with Dust Jacket

By Paul Jennings

128 Pages

`Early in the morning we made our way to the railway station, just in time for the first air raid of the day. The first thing we had to do was to get steam up in a railway engine. There were more air raids, and it came on to rain, and two Greek deserters stole my car, and altogether things did not look very hopeful. But the needle on the pressure gauge in the cabin of our engine was rising slowly, and at last, whistling excitedly, the ancient machine got under way. It was a majestic sight, and it would have been even more majestic if she had not gone backwards instead of forwards' - thus Peter Fleming recaptures, in the middle of a world war, the lively freshness of the pioneer days a century before.

This invigorating anthology opens with the indomitable nineteenth-century engineers whose grand design was driven through by sheer force of will. Flags, banners, huzzas, innumerable bands, and a great roar of steam as each new section of line is opened: these greet the advent of the railways. Splendid as a setting for Victorian drama (`D'ye know you're stopping the Silkminster Express?' `Thank God I have!'); enchanting as a background to children's stories (`Peter would give almost his ears to be in her place, on a real engine'); the railways became, above and beyond this, a rich field of symbol, metaphor and association for the great novelists. Tolstoy, Hardy, Kipling, Zola, all are represented here; so, too, is L. T. C. Rolt describing the Abbots Ripton disaster; Hubert Simmons and the cheerful rogues he knew as a young clerk; Auden and Monro; E. V. Knox for comedy and J. B. Priestley for humour; and Paul Jennings himself walking the Collie Valley line.

All pictures are of the actual item. If this is a railroad item, this material is obsolete and no longer in use by the railroad. Please email with questions. Publishers of Train Shed Cyclopedias and Stephans Railroad Directories. Large inventory of railroad books and magazines. Thank you for buying from us.

Shipping charges

Postage rates quoted are for shipments to the US only. Ebay Global shipping charges are shown. These items are shipped to Kentucky and then ebay ships them to you. Ebay collects the shipping and customs / import fees. For direct postage rates to these countries, send me an email. Shipping to Canada and other countries varies by weight.

Payment options

Payment must be received within 10 days. Paypal is accepted.

Terms and conditions

All sales are final. Returns accepted if item is not as described. Contact us first. No warranty is stated or implied. Please e-mail us with any questions before bidding.

Thanks for looking at our items.