The Galloping Sausage and Other Train Curiosities

150 Steam Railway Events & Stories

Geoff Body, Ian Body

• Publisher: The History Press
• Year: 2016
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• eBook ISBN:
  9780750975339
• Subtopic: Rail Transportation
• Index: Technology & Engineering

The formative years of Britain's railway network produced a host of ideas, activities and characters, quite a few of which now seem not only highly unusual, but sometimes little short of ridiculous. Weird schemes and designs, extravagant behavior, reckless competition and larger-than-life characters all featured in the genuine struggle of the railway system to evolve. And while regulation and common sense brought about more uniform and responsible practices, factors like the weather and the innate complexity of railway operation continued to produce a stream of nonstandard incidents and outcomes, from wild storms to telegraphic howlers. This book, by ex-railwayman Geoff Body, captures over 150 entertaining snippets, stories and strange and unusual facts from an ample supply of railway curiosities.

Table of contents

• Title
• Introduction, Sources and Acknowledgements
• A Hostile Takeover
• Doctor Dionysius Lardner
• Moments of Passion
• Educational Opposition
• The First Grand Opening
• Protective Clauses
• The MP for Lincoln
• The Sodden Field
• The Middy
• Deodand
• A Docks Line
• The Perfect Locomotive
• The Electric Telegraph
• Genuine Mistakes
• A Bridge Too Near
• Stranded
• Troubled Trial
• Early Coaches
• The First Steam Whistle
• Slips and Fumes
• Rail-Air 1883-Style
• Officially Curious
• The Atmospheric Caper
• Feeding the Habit
• Doncaster Races
• Season Ticket Perks
• The Madness
• Road/Rail Coordination
• The Merchandise Classes
• Dickens to the Rescue
• Hair Raising
• If You Can’t Beat ’Em ...
• Let There be Light
• Black Dog
• Sleeping Arrangements
• Dubious Firsts
• Gangs
• Trouble
• Gloucester
• Replacement Bus Service
• Two for the Price of One
• The Longest Train?
• Rhubarb! Rhubarb!
• Transitory Glory
• A Second’s Reflection
• ‘Like an Empty Beer Butt … ’
• WC&P
• Brunel’s Spectres
• Nuts
• Runaway Reaper
• Thirteen into Four
• Signal Box Names
• Abandoned Train
• The Drop
• The Innocent Railway
• Taunton Brake Van
• Brief Glory
• Lonely Giant
• The Galloping Sausage
• 18HP
• Two Unknown
• Not Just Leaves
• Thirty-Seven Minutes’ Delay
• On the Level
• Sidmouth Road
• ‘Kim’ Saves a Train
• Taking the Biscuit
• Harbour of Refuge Railway
• Bovine Ballast
• I See No Ships
• Uncommon Carrier
• Out of Gauge
• The Sounding Arch
• A Rare Survivor
• Stiffs’ Express
• What’s in a Name?
• Locomotive Hybrids
• Murder and Bedlam
• Filling Station
• Strange Locomotive, Strange Location
• Blending In
• Laira Raiders
• All the Wheels?
• Not to be Despised
• Not Amused
• Panto
• Tiger Hunt
• A Bit of a Setback
• Missed!
• Fly Shunting
• Anderson’s Piano
• A Double Life
• Kippers for Breakfast
• 400-ton Swing
• Exchange Stations
• Interlaced
• Adding Insult to Injury
• Nosedive
• The Names Lived On
• Extraordinary Specials
• Man vs Train
• Jellicoe Specials
• Fire
• Avoiding Action
• All Part of the Service
• Pitched Battle
• Under the Influence
• Paternalism
• Tunnel Vision
• Sleepers
• Highland Riot
• Brunel’s Wrath
• The Long and the Short and the Tall
• Runway Clear
• Fare Dodgers
• Beds and Bailiffs
• ‘Pursued by the Fort’
• Dual Purpose
• Heavy Responsibilities
• Road and Rail
• Pricey
• The Old Worse and Worse
• Hijack
• Push and Shove
• Blockade
• Access
• OTT
• Rocket Warning
• A Case of Confusion
• The Prize Fighting Game
• Naming
• Beached
• Eulogy
• Passengers on Top
• Incline Skills
• Cab Comfort
• Uneasy Bedfellows
• A Penny a Year
• On the Move
• Confusion
• Circular Routes
• Taken by Surprise
• Honeymoon Compartments
• Tickets
• Royal Station
• Dickensian
• Railway Time
• Special Trains
• Design Frenzy
• Racing
• The Racer, the Rasher and the Spud
• Copyright