Tales of Upchurch Station

By Robert Gillman, illustrated by Alan Ward

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. Sadly Alan died in 2019, but his work lives on, in his pen and ink line illustrations; cartoons were also a delightful departure from his work in water colours, oils and acrylics, which found their way into many other books. Much of the material for his work was inspired by all the interesting people and events he observed during a long association with heritage railways; many people will also have seen his work in exhibitions all over the country.