E-Books →Classic Railway Stories

Train travel was disruptive, fast and sometimes perilous - all the ingredients too of a good short story. Strangers and acquaintances are thrown together and missing their stop is also a great Description device. Then there are the perils of travelling alone to somewhere new, possibly in the dark when who knows what crimes and mysteries might unfold.
All these narrative tricks play out in this diverting collection. In Margaret Oliphant's moving story, a young wife escapes her abusive husband when their train leaves without him. In 'Holding Up a Train' O. Henry gives an account of the pros and cons of being a train robber and Saki wittily describes a mother's attempt to control her unruly children. With crime and mystery from the likes of Arthur Conan Doyle and Maurice le Blanc there's so much here to entertain.