Posted by Andy Clayton on May 15, 2012 at 08:00:08 user cousin_jack.
In Reply to: Arthur Ransome's Railways posted by Dave Thewlis on May 11, 2012 at 14:18:49:
Sorry to keep harping on about rlys, but I thought I'd add a crumb of info to the review of AR's Railways as written by David Carter.
In the section labelled Winter 1931/32, he refers to the comment (which I couldn't locate) early on about whether Mrs dixon had accompanied them on the train. He doubts that she did this, suggesting that perhaps she'd just accompanied them from the station. However, in the chapter titled 'Quarantine', when the school health certificates are dug out, Mrs Dixon says: 'I have them. Mrs callum, poor lamb, she gave them to me just as we were catching that train, and you know what it is, Mrs Blackett catching trains in towns, not like going up to the station here and having a word with old Bob, that's been porter and guard these thirty year. Yes, she gave me all their papers...'
Pretty conclusive thet Mrs Dixon had travelled with the D's on their journey. The only speculation is whether she went down south specificaly for that purpose, which seems most likey, given her motherly nature, or whether she combined the trip with some business of her own. Certainly, back at the farm she is very bustly as if trying to make up for lost time domesticaly.
The other question is, did the LNWR and LMS employ a Bob at Windermere Station during the early years of the centuary? Someone AR knew, aand mentioned in his book.