I am reading one of Charles Dickens's short stories, "No. 1 Branchline -- The Signalman". I assign it to my students in a course on disasters and history every couple of years; first they read the story, then they read a research article inspired by the story that tells about Victorian railway signals in Britain, major British accidents, and Dickens's writing about railroads. So what's not to love? It's a ghost story about railroad signals by a great author who survived a major accident and who wrote and edited many stories and articles about railroads. Actually, it's one of several chapters of a larger piece called "Mugby Junction". You can read it here: http://www.djo.org.uk/all-the-year-roun ... e-592.html. The link takes you to "The Signalman," but you can page back to the earlier Mugby Junction chapters.
Railroad Forums
Charles Dickens on railroads
- Discussion related to railroads/trains that show up in TV shows, commercials, movies, literature (books, poems and more), songs, the Internet, and more... Also includes discussion of well-known figures in the railroad industry or the rail enthusiast hobby.
