In 1890, after strings were pulled by his kindly mistress at the big house, 16-year-old page-boy Alfred Plumley unexpectedly found himself leaving domestic service and beginning an apprenticeship with the GWR. Based on his own eloquent memoir, this book uses Alfred's two years as a lad porter at a Somerset village station to explore the importance of the railways in 19th century rural life. High-spirited Alfred quickly comes to love his new life and,...