Two Hundred Years of Trains, and Free Download

I’ve mentioned before that my favourite form of transport is the train, no matter how long or short the journey. And I especially love a nostalgic trip on a steam train, which my husband and I do whenever the opportunity arises.

We’ve had many trips on steam trains in different parts of the country, my two favourites being the Ffestiniog Railway in North Wales and the Jacobite West Highland Railway in Scotland. All were most enjoyable chugging through wonderful scenery, with an occasional toot of the horn and waves from passers-by. It was no surprise we eventually took the wonderful Great Rail Journey to Switzerland during spring with the various types of trains - you can read that post here.

It is now two hundred years since the first passenger train service began on the Stockton and Darlington line in September 1825. The twenty-one wagons and one carriage, containing hundreds of passengers, were pulled by George Stephenson’s Locomotion at a top speed of 15mph. Exciting at the time!

Throughout the following decades, the railways gradually expanded and improved and by the 1840s, much of the country had a train service, with many more added in the following decades. In addition to opening up a practical way of moving goods between major cities, the public soon appreciated the ability to visit the seaside and other places of interest with more ease. Thomas Cook operated reasonably priced rail excursions for working class people, and thousands visited the Great Exhibition in London in 1851.

However, not everyone welcomed this form of transport at first, as the laying of railway tracks destroyed much of the beautiful countryside in their path. And that is the focus of my little Victorian novella, Pride and Progress.

Village schoolteacher Emily Morton is completely against the new railway ruining part of her north of England countryside in the 1870s. One day, while out walking and exploring nature, she literally ends up rolling into the pathway of the new Scottish station master, Arthur Muir.

While each is gradually challenged by the other, it remains to be seen if Emily’s stubborn pride will eventually give into progress.

The e-book of Pride and Progress is available to download FREE from Friday 12^th September through Monday 15^th. Enjoy!

Rosemary