The children are exploring an old railway tunnel when Phyllis becomes frightened by the approaching darkness. She wants to leave but the others convince her to stay. They hear a rumbling sound on the tracks growing louder, realizing it's an incoming train. Peter leads them to a manhole recess to take shelter as the train roars through the tunnel, described as a dragon with fiery eyes. Phyllis stumbles in the dark but they all make it safely into the recess. The train passes by loudly and dangerously before silence returns to the tunnel.

1. The Railway Children
In a Tunnel

2. How is it
walking on
foot in the
tunnel?

3. Have you ever
passed through a
tunnel?

4. •How is your experience of
travelling in a train?

5. Of course you know what going into a tunnel is like? The
engine gives a scream and then suddenly the noise of the
running, rattling train changes and grows different and much
louder. Grown-up people pull up the windows and hold them
by the strap. The railway carriage suddenly grows like
night—with lamps, of course, unless you are in a slow local
train, in which case lamps are not always provided. Then by
and by the darkness outside the carriage window is touched
by puffs of cloudy whiteness, then you see a blue light on the
walls of the tunnel, then the sound of the moving train
changes once more, and you are out in the good open air
again, and grown-ups let the straps go.

6. •The windows, all dim with the yellow breath of the
tunnel, rattle down into their places, and you see
once more the dip and catch of the telegraph wires
beside the line, and the straight-cut hawthorn
hedges with the tiny baby trees growing up out of
them every thirty yards.

7. • All this, of course, is what a tunnel means when you are in a
train. But everything is quite different when you walk into a
tunnel on your own feet, and tread on shifting, sliding stones
and gravel on a path that curves downwards from the shining
metals to the wall. Then you see slimy, oozy trickles of water
running down the inside of the tunnel, and you notice that the
bricks are not red or brown, as they are at the tunnel's mouth,
but dull, sticky, sickly green. Your voice, when you speak, is
quite changed from what it was out in the sunshine, and it is a
long time before the tunnel is quite dark.

8. Words to know
• rattling: make a series of short loud sounds
when hitting against something hard.
• hawthorn hedges: a bush or a small tree
with thorns, white or pink flowers and
small dark berries.
• gravel: small stones, often used to make
the surface of paths and roads.

9. Skimming the first section
Central idea
Going into a tunnel in a train
Noise of the rattling train becomes louder.
Grown up people pull up the windows and hold them by
the strap.
Lamps inside the railway carriage start glowing like
night.
As one comes out of the train, a little light like cloudy
whiteness starts showing, blue light on the walls of the
tunnel surfaces, and once more the sound of the moving
train changes.

10. When the train is out of the tunnel
• Grown-ups let the straps go.
• Windows rattle down to their places.
• Telegraph wires can be seen beside the line.
• Hawthorn hedges with tiny baby trees can be
seen.
• One comes out in open air.

11. Tunnel on foot
• One treads on shifting sliding stones and gravel on a curved path.
• The walls are slimy and green due to trickles of water running down.
• The bricks are not red or brown, but dull, sticky and dirty green.
• The tunnel is very dark that seems frightening to many.
• The sound of the human voice and trains change.
• The train looks mysterious and ghostly.

13. Let’s discuss
•Why does the railway carriage suddenly
grow dark like night?

14. • Describe the train as it comes out of the
tunnel.

15. • How does a train move in a tunnel when
you are in it? How is it different from walking
into a tunnel on your own feet?

16. Inside
the
tunnel

17. It was not yet quite dark in the tunnel when Phyllis caught at
Bobbie's skirt, ripping out half a yard of gathers, but no one noticed
this at the time.
“I want to go back,” she said, “I don't like it. It'll be pitch dark in a
minute. I WON'T go on in the dark. I don't care what you say, I
WON'T.”
“Don't be a silly cuckoo,” said Peter; “I've got a candle end and
matches, and—what's that?”
“That” was a low, humming sound on the railway line, a trembling of
the wires beside it, a buzzing, humming sound that grew louder and
louder as they listened.
“It's a train,” said Bobbie.

18. “Which line?”
“Let me go back,” cried Phyllis, struggling to get
away from the hand by which Bobbie held her.
“Don't be a coward,” said Bobbie; “it's quite
safe. Stand back.”
“Come on,” shouted Peter, who was a few yards
ahead. “Quick! Manhole!”

19. The roar of the advancing train was now louder than the
noise you hear when your head is under water in the bath
and both taps are running, and you are kicking with your
heels against the bath's tin sides. But Peter had shouted
for all he was worth, and Bobbie heard him. She dragged
Phyllis along to the manhole. Phyllis, of course, stumbled
over the wires and grazed both her legs. But they dragged
her in, and all three stood in the dark, damp, arched recess
while the train roared louder and louder. It seemed as if it
would deafen them. And, in the distance, they could see
its eyes of fire growing bigger and brighter every instant.

20. It is a dragon—I always knew it was—it takes its
own shape in here, in the dark,” shouted Phyllis.
But nobody heard her. You see the train was
shouting, too, and its voice was bigger than hers.

21. And now, with a rush and a roar and a rattle and a long
dazzling flash of lighted carriage windows, a smell of smoke,
and blast of hot air, the train hurtled by, clanging and
jangling and echoing in the vaulted roof of the tunnel. Phyllis
and Bobbie clung to each other. Even Peter caught hold of
Bobbie's arm, “in case she should be frightened,” as he
explained afterwards.
And now, slowly and gradually, the tail-lights grew smaller
and smaller, and so did the noise, till with one last WHIZ the
train got itself out of the tunnel, and silence settled again on
its damp walls and dripping roof.

22. Central idea
• Phyllis is extremely scared of the dark.
• She compares the train to a dragon which takes its own
shape in the
• tunnel.
• The headlights of the trains are compared to the eyes of
fire.
• A train comes in with a buzzing, humming sound, but later,
the noise
• becomes so loud that it seems as if they are getting
drowned in it.
• Phyllis stumbles, but Bobbie drags her to the manhole and
Peter
• follows. And they stand safe in the dark, damp, arch recess.

23. Experiences of the children
• Peter shouts to tell Bobbie to look after Phyllis who
is very scared.
• Phyllis stumbles over the wires and bruises both her
legs.
• They stand along th e manhole.
• Phyllis and Bobbie cling to each other.
• Peter, the bravest of them all, holds on to Bobbie’s
arm, saying that sheis frightened, though it is he who
is frightened.

24. View of the train inside the tunnel
• Roaring, drowning, deafening, rattling, jangling,
clanging and echoing
• sound.
• Like a dragon it takes its own shape.
• The headlights are compared to fiery eyes.
• The long dazzling flash of the lighted carriage
windows
• The tunnel is full of the smell of smoke and a blast
of hot air.

25. Let’s discuss
•Which child is the most
frightened?

26. •How does the author describe
the train hurtling by?

27. •What are the wires over which
phylliss stumbles?

28. •Peter asks others; ‘ and what’s
that’? What is 'that’ he refers to?

29. •How many children are there in
the Tunnel?