Peter's Railway - Christopher G. C. Vine

This is book 1 of a fascinating and educational series. "Peter's Railway" is the story of a young boy who lives with his family in a cottage at the edge of his Grandpa's farm. It is a long way by road between their two houses and Grandpa does not own a car. So to make visiting each other easier, they build a miniature steam railway. They have some adventures along the way and use all sorts of machines and tools to help them in their great building project. In quiet moments, Grandpa tells Peter some incredible tales from the old times on the railways. The story ends with the grand opening ceremony with the first steam train running the full length of the scenic railway, through the fields, woods and past the river. The book combines the story with lots of simply explained technical information and diagrams. They are on pages at the ends of relevant chapters to avoid getting in the way of the story.