Tales of Upchurch Station

By Robert Gillman, illustrated by Alan Ward

The tales of Upchurch station is a delightful, character-driven collection of stories, featuring Sid the Shunter, Stanley the Stationmaster, Derek the Engine Driver and a host of other remarkable people who work and live around Upchurch Station and Bigtown.

It was inspired by Robert Gillman’s love of trains, his experience working in a professional railway environment and his work as a volunteer fireman on the West Somerset Railway; all the stories reinforce the positive values in life that many people hold dear and would like to pass on to their children and grandchildren.

The characters have been brought wonderfully to life by Alan Ward, the talented and well-known professional wildlife and railway artist.  His pen and ink line illustrations and cartoons are a delightful departure from painting in water colours, oils and acrylics, and have found their way into other recent books. Much of the material for his work has been inspired by the many interesting people and events he has observed during a long association with heritage railways; many people will have seen this work at exhibitions up and down the country.