The Railway Children · Chapter
The Old Gentleman explained
The children befriend the railway and begin waving to the 9:15 train, which is ridden by an old gentleman who waves back.
What happens
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. The children spend time at the station with the Porter, learning about trains, and Peter starts collecting engine numbers.
Themes in this chapter
Childhood Innocence and Adventure
The children's imaginative naming of trains and their daily ritual of waving to the old gentleman reflect their innocent joy and sense of adventure.
Resilience in Adversity
Mother's illness and financial strain are met with the children's resourcefulness and care, showing their resilience in the face of hardship.
Characters to notice
- Roberta (Bobbie)
Acts as head-nurse when Mother is ill, shows understanding of Mother's sadness, and mediates between Peter and Phyllis.
- Peter
Collects engine numbers in a notebook, argues with Phyllis but reconciles, and fetches the doctor for Mother.
- Phyllis
Suggests waving to the Green Dragon to send love to Father, argues with Peter about coal, and learns about train couplings.
- Mother
Falls ill with influenza, struggles with the cost of medicine, and allows the children to walk by the railway despite her fears.
- The Old Gentleman
First appears waving back from the 9:15 train; the children imagine he might know their father.
Key passages
“Mother was an honest and honourable Mother, so she had to say, 'Yes.'”
Mother admitted she had walked on railway lines as a child because she was truthful.
Highlights Mother's integrity and the moral complexity of setting rules for her children.
“The Green Dragon's going where Father is; if it were a really real dragon, we could stop it and ask it to take our love to Father.”
Phyllis wishes the train were a magical dragon that could carry their love to their absent father.
Shows the children's longing for their father and their imaginative coping mechanism.
“He called me un-un-ungentlemanly,' sobbed Phyllis. 'I didn't never call him unladylike, not even when he tied my Clorinda to the firewood bundle and burned her at the stake for a martyr.'”
Phyllis cries because Peter called her ungentlemanly, reminding him she never retaliated when he burned her doll.
Illustrates sibling conflict and the children's moral reasoning about fairness.