# The Railway Children — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for The Railway Children by E. Nesbit.

- [Dedication](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_railway_children_se/chapters/dedication.md): The author dedicates the book to her son Paul Bland, acknowledging his expertise in railways which she relies upon.
- [The Railway Children](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_railway_children_se/chapters/the-railway-children.md): The three children, Roberta, Peter, and Phyllis, move with their mother to a small house called Three Chimneys after their father's sudden departure. They discover the railway nearby and become fascinated with the trains
- [The Beginning of Things](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_railway_children_se/chapters/i-the-beginning-of-things.md): The chapter introduces the three children—Roberta, Peter, and Phyllis—living a comfortable suburban life with their perfect father and loving mother. Their idyllic existence is shattered when mysterious visitors arrive, 
- [Peter's Coal-Mine](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_railway_children_se/chapters/ii-peter-s-coal-mine.md): The children adapt to their new life without Father, but a period of cold, wet weather reveals their poverty when Mother forbids a fire due to the high cost of coal. Determined to help, Peter devises a plan to mine coal 
- [The Old Gentleman](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_railway_children_se/chapters/iii-the-old-gentleman.md): The children befriend the railway and begin waving to the 9:15 train, which is ridden by an old gentleman who waves back. Mother falls ill with influenza, and the doctor prescribes expensive remedies she cannot afford. T
- [IV: The Engine-Burglar](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_railway_children_se/chapters/iv-the-engine-burglar.md): Roberta (Bobbie) accidentally climbs into a moving train's cab while trying to get her toy engine mended. She befriends the engine-driver Bill and fireman Jim, who fix the toy and teach her about the engine's workings. M
- [Prisoners and Captives](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_railway_children_se/chapters/v-prisoners-and-captives.md): On a rainy day, the children wait at the station for their mother and encounter a mysterious, ill-looking foreigner without a ticket. They befriend him, discover he is Russian, and their mother takes him home. That night
- [Saviours of the Train](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_railway_children_se/chapters/vi-saviours-of-the-train.md): The children befriend the Russian gentleman recovering in their garden and seek to cheer him. They visit Perks at the station, who is hurt at being left out of the secret about the Russian. After reconciling, they learn 
- [For Valour](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_railway_children_se/chapters/vii-for-valour.md): The children receive a letter commending their bravery in saving the train and are invited to a presentation ceremony where they are awarded inscribed watches. Bobbie, however, uses the opportunity to ask the Old Gentlem
- [The Amateur Firemen](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_railway_children_se/chapters/viii-the-amateur-firemen.md): The children encounter a bargeman who initially drives them off the bridge, but his wife later apologizes and invites them to fish. When the barge cabin catches fire, the children rescue the baby and dog, earning the bar
- [The Pride of Perks](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_railway_children_se/chapters/ix-the-pride-of-perks.md): The children decide to celebrate Perks's birthday by collecting gifts from the village, but their well-intentioned plan backfires when Perks, proud and independent, initially rejects the offerings as charity. After a hea
- [The Terrible Secret](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_railway_children_se/chapters/x-the-terrible-secret.md): Bobbie discovers the truth about her father's imprisonment through a newspaper clipping, learning he has been sentenced to five years of penal servitude. She struggles with this secret while trying to comfort her mother 
- [The Hound in the Red Jersey](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_railway_children_se/chapters/xi-the-hound-in-the-red-jersey.md): Bobbie discovers the terrible secret of her father's imprisonment through an old newspaper, and shares her grief with her mother, who reveals the truth about the false accusation. Later, the children venture into a tunne
- [What Bobbie Brought Home](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_railway_children_se/chapters/xii-what-bobbie-brought-home.md): Bobbie, Peter, and Phyllis discover an injured boy named Jim in the tunnel after a train passes. Bobbie stays with him while Peter and Phyllis seek help. Bobbie tends to Jim's broken leg, using her petticoat as a cushion
- [The Hound's Grandfather](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_railway_children_se/chapters/xiii-the-hound-s-grandfather.md): The injured young man, Jim, is cared for by Mother with the Doctor's help. The children play a rough game of bone-setting, which ends with Bobbie and Phyllis tying Peter up to teach him a lesson. The Old Gentleman reveal
- [The End](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_railway_children_se/chapters/xiv-the-end.md): Life at Three Chimneys changes after the old gentleman visits his grandson. The children resume waving to the 9:15 train, and the old gentleman arranges for all passengers to wave back, hinting at good news. Bobbie feels

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