Small Island by Little Train ― A Narrow-gauge Adventure

An exploration of the joys and idiosyncrasies of Britain’s one-off narrow-gauge railway lines. From stalwart little locomotives of topographic necessity, to the maverick engines of one man’s whimsy, Britain’s narrow-gauge steam trains run on tracks a world apart from its regimented mainlines. In Small Island by Little Train, eccentricity enthusiast Chris Arnot sets out to discover their stories. The miniature railway on the Kent coast, used for Home Guard military trains during World War II, and now the school commute for dozens of local school children. The UK’s only Alpine-style rack-and-pinion railway, scaling one of Britain’s highest mountains. The five different gauges of railway circling one man’s landscaped garden, and the team building their own trains to run on it. The legendary Peak District railway closed and never reopened—what, if anything remains of it? Far more than mere relics of the nation’s industrial past, or battered veterans of wartime Britain, these are also stories of epic feats of preservation, volunteerism, tourism, and local history. They are an exploration of idiosyncrasy, enthusiasm, and eccentricity. Or, to put it another way, a tale of Britishness.

Chris Arnot has been a freelance journalist for 18 years. He writes for the Guardian and has been a contributor to the Independent, Daily Telegraph, and Observer.