SIGNALMAN'S TWILIGHT

In Signalman's Twilight, the second part of his trilogy, Adrian continues the story of his railway life in rural West Berkshire, moving from Uffington signal box to that at Challow early in 1962. The Western Region of British Railways was still, very much, Great Western Railway in spirit. The locomotives, men and equipment which served the merchants, farmers and shop keepers of the Vale of the White Horse with their fresh fish, coal, watercress, sugar beet, farm implements, horses - and Lyons cakes - were almost the same in 1962 as they had been in 1922. Any changes were such as fitted in perfectly with the older ways.Signalman's Twilight recalls the openness of the railway and the skill and commitment of the railwaymen. Adrian tells the amazing story of how Signalman Abrahams prevented what would have been a fatal train crash - just as he was about to start to demonstrate a new hymn he had learned for next Sunday's service. Adrian's admiration for the old-hand railway men knew no bounds.Then came modernization, dieselization, and station closures under Dr Beeching's 'Axe'. Adrian describes how he tried single-handedly to save Challow station only to earn a severe reprimand from high authority. The Axe fell and destroyed not only the stations of the Vale but a happy, settled way of life.Adrian Vaughan's Signalman's trilogy was originally published between 1981 and 1987, covering a period from Adrian's first acquaintance with railways in 1945 to his leaving railway employment in 1975. The three books are regarded as classics of railway writing and remain in demand to this day.