The Railway Children

Mother seeks ways of reuniting the Russian Exile with his family, writing letters to “Editors and Secretaries of Societies and Members of Parliament” in search of information or assistance, but her attempts yield no results (166). Bobbie remains occasionally haunted by the near-disaster on the railway line, and sometimes awakes from nightmares. She is, however, always comforted by the thought that nothing bad happened thanks to her and her siblings’ timely intervention.

The children are invited to a special reception at the railway station in honor of their heroism. Mother is proud of them, but warns them that, “if the presentation is money, you must say, ‘Thank you, but we’d rather not take it’” (169). The children attend the reception, at which they discover that the old gentleman is actually the “District Superintendent” of the railway and therefore a part of the ceremony (176). The children are each handed “a gold watch and chain” with an engraving commemorating their saving of the train as a reward, which they accept (177).

Bobbie writes another letter to the old gentleman, asking him to get out of the train to speak to her on his next ride.