The opening chapters need no account. A free account opens the whole text.
The Railway Children
E. Nesbit (Edith Nesbit) · 1906
An illustrated edition of E. Nesbit’s novel, following three siblings whose new country home brings them into a lively friendship with the railway and its village community.
Inside this edition
Every LitLab edition is illustrated from the text itself — the world of the book mapped, its people drawn, its scenes staged. 68 plates are open to everyone in this book; here are 8 of them.
The Railway-side Family and Station Community
The Barge Family and Local Neighbours
The Family at Three Chimneys
A Sudden ChangeMother and the children leave London by train while Aunt Emma sees them off.
A Train at the WindowThe railway quickly becomes part of their new daily life.
The Railway Family
The Railway District of Three Chimneys
Three ChimneysThe children's country home stands beside the railway.
This edition
- Title
- The Railway Children
- Author
- E. Nesbit (Edith Nesbit)
- First published
- 1906
- Illustrated plates
- 141 original artworks · 68 open to everyone
- Chapters
- 14 · about 59,403 words
- Reading time
- 3 h 58 min
- Language
- EN
- Formats
- Read online · EPUB and PDF download with a subscription
- Publisher
- LitLab — The Illustrated Classics
- On LitLab since
- October 2026
- Rights
- Text in the public domain. Illustrations and edition © LitLab.
Neighbours in the library
Chosen by what they share with The Railway Children — the same years.