The Forest of Boland Railway - overall view of Station.
indentThe Forest of Boland Railway
is quite fictional.v Yes, there is a Forest of Boland (in the
North West of England), but it never had a railway like this.v
The landscape of the area is however, sufficiently wild to perhaps have been the setting
for a wonderful 1950's book called, "The Forest of Boland Light Railway" by the
children's author "B.B." (as he signed himself).v I
believe he was also a Professor of something or other who wrote highly technical treatises
about science but we are concerned here with his imagination from which he produced a
wonderful series of three "Gnome" books.v Two,
"The Little Grey Men" and "The Little Grey Men go down the Bright
Stream", tell the wonderful story of the last four gnomes in England but
unfortunately they have nothing to do with railways.
indentHis other work though, the title noted above, deals
with a period perhaps a thousand years earlier when there was, it seems, a considerable
population of these little people.v You should naturally
avail yourself of a copy if you can, since I consider it a much under-rated tale, and
although not in print as I write this, reprints do occasionally take place if demand is
sufficient.v (Ask your local bookseller!)v For now however, these photographs might just give you the
flavour of this highly humorous story.v It certainly makes
for a highly unusual model!
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