Chapter 1. A New Home

They weren't always the Railway Children. At first they were just Bobbie, Peter and Phyllis; three children who lived in a big house in London. They didn't get the train very often. They didn't know much about the railway then. Bobbie was 14 years old. She was a kind girl, and she always tried to help people. Then there was Peter. One day, he wanted to be a train driver. And Phyllis was 8 years old, and very curious.

The children lived in a beautiful house, with their mother and father. Mother was always there. She helped them with their school work. And she read them stories. Father did an important job for his country. He had a lot to do. But after work, he always had time to play with the children.

Bobbie, Peter and Phyllis were very happy. So, how did these children become the Railway Children?

The story starts on a very important day.

It was Peter's birthday. He was ten years old.

He had a very nice party. There was a lot of good food, and nice games to play, but what Peter really wanted was a toy train for his birthday and that's what he got. It was a beautiful train. He played with it all day. In the evening, Bobbie went into Peter's bedroom. She wanted to say happy birthday again.

‘Are you playing with your train?' she asked.

‘No, look! It's broken.' Peter tried not to cry. I'm a big boy now and big boys don't cry,' he thought.

‘Don't worry,' said Bobbie. ‘Father is coming home now for dinner. He can help you.'

At dinner, Peter waited. I can't ask my father now, he thought. I must wait, and ask him when he finishes his dinner. But please finish dinner soon! When the family finished eating, Peter couldn't wait another minute. ‘Father, look at my train! What can I do?'

‘Don't worry Peter', said Father. ‘Let's look at it together.'

‘Together!' said Peter.

‘Yes, me, you, Bobbie and Phyllis,' said Father.

‘But they're girls!' said Peter.

‘Girls are clever too, you know,' said Father.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door.

‘Who can that be?' said Father. ‘It's very late. Stay in the dining room, children.' Mother and Father went to open the door. The children waited in the dining room. They were very curious.

‘Who is it?' asked Bobbie. ‘It's strange. People don't usually come to visit in the evening.'

‘I want to listen,' said Phyllis.

So, Phyllis went near the door and tried to listen. She couldn't hear everything.

‘There are two men with Father. They're in the kitchen. Father is talking,' said Phyllis. ‘He's not happy. I can hear more now…They're going outside. Yes, that's it, now the men are leaving. I don't know if Father is with them. Yes, they're leaving.'

Phyllis went back to the table, but only Mother came back into the dining room.

‘Go to bed now children,' said Mother. ‘It's late.'

‘But what about my train?' said Peter.

‘Father isn't here,' said Mother. ‘He had to go to work.'

‘That's strange,' said Bobbie. ‘Why does Father have to go to work now? It's late'.

The children said goodnight to their mother, and they went to bed.

The next morning, the children were ready for their breakfast, but they didn't have breakfast with Mother or Father. They weren't there, but their Aunt Emma was in the kitchen.

First, Father isn't here. And now Mother. What's happening? thought Phyllis. Aunt Emma is here. She doesn't tell us stories. She doesn't help us with our school work. She's got no time for children.

Mother didn't come home all day. The children went to school. When they came back, there was only Aunt Emma. In the evening, Mother came home. She sat down, and then she said:

‘Now my dear children, I want to tell you something. It's bad news. Father can't come back home for a long time. I'm very worried about this, so, you must help me. You must be good. Please don't ask me any questions. Don't worry. Everything will be fine in the end.'

In their bedroom, the children couldn't sleep.

‘What's happening? Bobbie, can you speak to Mother?' asked Peter.

‘No! We mustn't ask questions. Mother must have a good reason for not telling us. We promised to be good, remember? It's something about father's job. We have to wait. We can't do anything now.'

After that, Mother often went out and Aunt Emma stayed with the children. One evening, Mother came home late. She was very tired.

‘Now, my children,' said Mother. ‘We're leaving this house. We're going to a new house. It's called “Three Chimneys”. You'll love it. I know you'll love it.'

Everything is changing, thought Bobbie.

‘What next?'

‘Can I take my toy train?' asked Peter.

‘Yes,' said Mother. ‘But we can't take everything with us. “Three Chimneys” is small.'

The children were worried. Where was this new house and how small was it?

A week later, they were on the train to begin their new life. At first, the children enjoyed looking out of the train window but soon they were tired.

After many hours, the train arrived. They got off the train and looked around. They couldn't see very much. They were cold, tired and hungry and it was very dark.

‘We have to walk now,' said Mother. So they walked. They saw a lot of farms and then, they saw a hill.

‘Where's the house?' asked Peter.

‘It's up this hill,' said Mother.

And so, they went up the hill, then they saw a house.

‘Look! There it is,' said Mother.

They opened the door. It was very dark and cold inside. Mother had a candle, so they began to see more and more.

‘I can see some things now,' said Phyllis. ‘There's a table … and I can see some chairs. But there's not much in the room. There's a place for a fire, but there's no coal. That's why it's very cold.'

‘What's that noise?' asked Bobbie.

‘It's only a rat,' said Mother.

‘A rat!' said the children, all together.