Uncle Rollo's Railway

By Mark Carter

Rowland Bates and his wife buy an old railway station which has been converted into a modern dwelling.
Bates, a steam train enthusiast, discovers that the railway line is still there, partly buried beneath the long grass and brambles, and with the help of three local children who call him 'Uncle Rollo', he uncovers the track so that it can be seen again, running past the 'station'.
They discover a rusty old guards van and an ancient steam engine, long abandoned, in a derelict corner of the property.
Bates wants to get publicity for return of the old countryside railways which were so savagely axed by the government of forty years ago. He takes on a retired engine driver, Edward Bere, or 'Teddy', to help get the engine going. He also discovers the railway line continues, still partly buried, across his neighbour's land, and he seeks permission to uncover the track over there, too.
His local M.P. is impressed and promises to raise question of opening some of the old country railway lines, thus giving the tourist industry and the public in general a wonderful alternative to travelling by car on overcrowded roads.
With the help of the three children, some friends and Teddy Bere, their gala day arrives with the opening of UNCLE ROLLO'S RAILWAY.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dancing Unicorn
• Release date: Nov 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9781915692856

Book preview

Uncle Rollo’s Railway

By

Mark Carter

Published by Dancing Unicorn

An imprint of Purple Unicorn Media

Copyright © 2023 Mark Carter

All rights are reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher.

ISBN 978-1-915692-85-6

Cover design by Steven Phillips

www.dancingunicorn.co.uk

UNCLE ROLLO’S RAILWAY

By

Mark Carter

Chapter One

They had driven past the place dozens of times on their way to the coast, but the railway, once a vital link for the busy farming community, was one of the many countryside railways axed by a past government, and the single-track station had long been converted into a pretty little dwelling.

Rowland Bates, a retired engineer, slowed his car on the hump bridge so that he could get another glimpse of the old railway station and the space down there between the trees which still marked the direction of the track. Bates was a steam train buff and in his imagination he could hear a whistle and see the smoke belching out from beneath the bridge.

For some time he and his wife, Betty, had been toying with the idea of moving to a house closer to the sea and this time when her husband pulled in alongside the cottage she gave a sigh because there was a FOR SALE notice outside the building.

It’s empty! Bates jumped out and went up close to peer through the windows.

Betty knew that they would never get to the sea that day but she often went along with him when it came to his interest in trains. Besides, what woman is not intrigued by a pretty little flower-bedecked dwelling which has a For Sale notice outside?

They had no children of their own, just young nephews and nieces who loved to come and play with Rowland’s toy train system and who called him Uncle Rollo.

Betty waited, admiring the flowers, while her husband disappeared round the back of the building. Here the track had been grassed over to form a neatly kept lawn. And close by the bridge, where the trains used to puff their way out of the station, flowering shrubs and ornamental trees transformed the once grimy railway scene into a place of beauty which Bates decided was a fitting memorial for the old railway halt. He wondered about the comings and goings of those trains over the years, particularly during the two world wars. There had been happy days here, and sad ones too!

Three of the village children knew where the old railway had been and they often went there to play at trains. Bob, the eldest, had a zest for trains right from the beginning. Tall for his age, he already had a shoe size bigger than his father’s.

Tom was younger and fat but it was only his mother’s cooking and one day he would lose all that just like everybody else. Bob and Tom chummed up because they liked the same things, especially trains, and they often met near the busy line to London to do some train spotting.

Joey, the youngest, with his dark curly hair and deep brown eyes could be mistaken for a girl if it wasn’t for the knee-length shorts he wore. Indeed, one of the villagers was heard to remark: What’s that little girl doing running around with those rough looking boys? But Joey tagged along and he managed to keep up with the others so he was tolerated. He was a survivor!

The boys called themselves The Three Terrors, but apart from lighting fires in the wood and putting coins on the railway line they could hardly bring themselves to terrorise anything except, perhaps, a local cow!

Bates was exploring the site of the old railway line when he heard these children approaching. They ran past the cottage, all making various train noises, the youngest trying his best to keep up, and when he waved and called out to them they laughed and waved back before disappearing beneath the bridge. He paused while he savoured the magic of this place. If only those old steam trains were still running...

His wife had to go and look for him.

Let’s get the keys and see what it’s like inside! Bates said.

It’s just an old railway station, Betty said, and I expect it’s cold and damp with those water meadows over there, any anyway it’s too small. There’s probably only two bedrooms and what would you do about your study and your train set?

Let’s have a quick look anyway. The Estate Agent’s office is only a mile or so away in Updown.

The Estate Agent remembered the days of steam. The closing of much of the old established country-wide railway system, originally put down with engineering expertise and taxpayers money, was a major blew for the local communities.

That railway was a life-line to us village folk. In those days almost everything came and went by train and it was cheaper than any other form of transport. Stop the trains and what happened? The local bus services were hopelessly inadequate and everybody had to go and buy a car which they couldn’t afford. I’m glad we still had those railways during the war. I remember the troop trains coming through that very station and all kinds of armaments, too, were transported quickly and safely to the Channel ports.

He handed Bates particulars of the cottage together with the keys.

How much land is there?

"About twenty acres, and most of it runs along the site of the old railway line. Nobody wanted that land, least of all the previous railway company. I expect they were only too pleased to leave some of their rubbish behind because I’ve heard that somewhere up in