:

Susan Brownrigg ended up down a railway rabbit hole, after seeing a sign, that has culminated in Wrong Tracks a book full of intrigue, sabotage, spies, investigations and trains!

Not being a stranger to a bit of obscurity – her Gracie Fairshaw books are full of curious goings on – Susan has taken a load of research and real life and conjured a mystery she hopes readers will enjoy and perhaps solve too along the way.

She has very kindly written for us about her research and how much it inspired her curiosity…

~

Back in 2021, I was offered a new job at a public library. Travelling to and from work I would pass a sign featuring a famous steam locomotive, Rocket. It read ‘Welcome to Rainhill home of The Locomotive Trials 1829.’

Over and over again, I would see that sign, until I felt driven to find out more about the Rainhill Trials.

Down the rabbit hole I went. One article led to another, then books, YouTube videos and DVDS, and visits to museums and heritage railways. I devoured anything at all to do with early railway pioneers and their engines. I was hooked!

I was especially drawn to the Stephensons, father and son inventors. Their relationship was intriguing, George, the elder, was a self-made man, clever with his hands, and a real showman with the gift of the gab; Robert seemed quieter but was hugely talented, just as ambitious, perhaps more of an enigma.

I read about the Stockton and Darlington Railway – to be celebrated as the 200^th anniversary of railways this year (2025) and how steam locomotive engines were first used for transporting coal, but now were being considered for passenger transport.

Not everyone was a fan of the new technology. There were warnings that engines would explode and that locomotives would terrify animals grazing in fields aside the track. Whilst surveyors trying to plot the route for the new Liverpool & Manchester Railway were shot at, to frighten them off the landowners’ estates.

George Stephenson had a battle of his own, he was trying to persuade the owners of the same railway – the first between two metropolis – to use locomotives not stationary engines. The debate was to be settled by the Rainhill Trials. Engineers were invited to submit their designs for a new type of locomotive engine – and the best of these would compete in a series of timed trials at a section of the line, in the village, about ten miles from Liverpool. The winner would be awarded £500 and a contract to run their locomotives on the line.

The Stephensons though were too old to be the main characters in a children’s book. Luckily, I stumbled upon an old newspaper article about a 15-year-old boy called Edward Entwistle, from Tyldesley, Wigan, who claimed he drove Rocket on Opening Day of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway. Perfect!

I searched for further information but found very little, just slightly differing versions of the same claims. In the end, I decided the gaps in his biography enabled me to take more liberties with Edward’s story – and to bring him into the Stephenson’s world earlier.

I had George Stephenson offer Edward a job at the Stephensons’ Steam Locomotive Manufactory. There, he must protect the father and son inventors’ latest creation – their precious Premium Engine. Strange and dangerous accidents keep stalling construction. Edward wonders if it could it be sabotage.

When writing a mystery adventure, I love getting my main character into lots of scrapes! With Edward it was especially easy as his fondness for fibs and exaggeration often backfires on him.

In Wrong Tracks, Edward and his new friend, Prudence face many obstacles. They have to sneak around to find clues and they have to try and eek information out of their suspects. A lot of the characters in the book are based on real people, so it was also fun using biographical information and rivalries and then using it to make them possible suspects.

There was plenty of material for me to use from the Trials too. The locomotives suffered a number of faults and mishaps, including a mix up with Rocket’s wheels, and another engine being badly damaged in transit. One spectator even fell under one of the engines as it raced along! While a famous high-drama accident during Opening Day of the Liverpool & Manchester was perfect for my book’s climax. All the jigsaw pieces were there for me to slot into place.

I hope readers will love trying to solve the mystery alongside Edward and Prudence and that along the way they will develop a passion for early steam railway history, as I did.

~

Many thanks again to Susan for sharing the journey of Wrong Tracks.  It’s always great to hear about books that have that slightly niche subject matter than could be just the ticket for enticing a children into reading for pleasure.  Wrong Tracks would suit Key Stage 2 readers – and not just those who enjoy trains! – it is full of mystery and peril too after all.

Find out more about each of Susan’s titles and our discounts for schools by clicking the images below.