THE RAILWAY CHILDREN SYNOPSIS

Roberta(Bobbie), Peter and Phyllis lived in a comfortable home in London. Their father was a civil servant
while their mother was a housewife. Their parents were wonderful and kind people. They also had a maid
to do the house work.
One day, two gentlemen came to the house to see their father. Soon after, he followed them out.He was
taken to prison. He was accused of being a Russian spy. The children did not know why their father left
with the two men but their mother knew. She kept it to herself and did not tell the children.
Soon, they had to move to a modest cottage in the Yorkshire countryside. The cottage was situated near a
railway station. The children's life revolved around the passing trains, workers at the station and the
towns people.
Their mother wrote some stories to earn some money to buy food and for other necessities. It was hard at
first to be poor but they soon learned to live with the little they had.
They learned not to steal coal from the railway station even if they have so little coal to keep warm. Their
life was full of adventures. For instance, they managed to stop a train when a landslide covered the tracks.
They found the injured boy (hound) in the train tunnel and managed to get help for him.
They liked to wave at passing trains. In time they made many new friends and forged a special friendship
with one old gentleman in particular. The old gentleman gets to know them and helps them in various
ways.
He becomes instrumental in the release of their father from prison. Finally, one day their father returns
home and everybody is happy that now they are together again.

THE RAILWAY CHILDREN-CHARACTER

CHARACTERS
ROBERTA (ROBBIE)

Twelve Years Old

Eldest Child
Persistent, Helpful, Kindhearted, Inventive,Sensitive,Responsible
PETER

Second Child
Wants To Be an Engineer
Adventorous, Sharpwitted, Honest, Daring
PHYLLIS

Youngest Child
Very Trusting, Insecure

MOTHER

Homely
Protective, Resourceful, Caring, Proud, Realistic
FATHER

A Civil Servant / Government Officer

Tolerant, Caring, Cheerful
Wrongly Accused of being a Russian Spy
PERKS

A Railway Porter
Friendly, Proud, Hardworking, Reasonable, Responsible

OLD GENTLEMAN

Friendly, Helpful, Kind, Resourceful

THE RAILWAY CHILDREN-SETTINGS

There are 3 types of settings in this novel :Place, Social, Cultural

Social - Edwardian Type Of Clothes

Place
Place - House in London

Place - The cottage in the countryside

Place - The Railway Station

Place - The Railway Tunnel

Place - The Village

Social
Social - Edwardian Type Of Clothes

Social - Coals used for steam engine trains

Social - Coals used as fuel in steam engine trains

Cultural
Cultural - Having Tea

Cultural - High Hats & Long Coats

THE RAILWAY CHILDREN-MORAL VALUE

There are some beautiful moral values / lessons we can see and learn from this novel. The moral values /
lessons are BRAVE, KINDHEARTED, STEALING IS WRONG, PERSEVERANCE (NEVER GIVING UP),
SENSIBLE (QUICK THINKING), SENSITIVE (NOT SELFISH), HONESTY and FRIENDLY. In this post, I
will share three of them.
Moral Value 1 - Brave
Example : In chapter 5, the children managed to save the train and stop a very bad accident from
happening.One day, Roberta, Peter and Phyllis saw a landslide which blocked the railway line.The girls
used their red petticoats to make flags.The train was moving very fast.Bobbie braved herself and ran on to
the railway line and waved her flags.The train finally stopped just twenty metres from Bobbie. The
children's bravery saved the people on the rain from meeting with an awful accident and from getting
killed.
Moral Value 2 - Kindhearted
Example : In chapter 3, the children's mother was ill and had to stay in bed. Dr Forrest came to check on
their mother and told Bobbie her mother needed milk and fruit and some other special things to eat in
order to get well. They couldn't afford to buy them, so the children decided to ask help from the old
gentleman. The old gentleman was a kind enough to provide them with all the things they had asked
and some they had not.
Moral Value 3 - Stealing Is Wrong
Example : In chapter 2, Peter and his two sisters stole some coal from the station yard. They took the coal
back to their house.One day, the station master caught Peter red handed stealing coal in the station
yard.Peter and his two sisters admitted to helping Peter with his crime. The station master warned them
not to repeat it again and let them go. The children realised that stealing was wrong. They repented and
never took any coal from the station yard again.

THE RAILWAY CHILDREN - SUMMARY