In Book 4 of this fascinating and educational series, Peter and Grandpa are faced with the coldest winter anyone can remember. How are they going to feed the animals when the tractor has frozen solid? The first construction project is to make a snow plough for the miniature railway. However the really big project for this book is making the watermill on the river. They then have to connect it to the house to supply free electricity. Of course there are plenty of adventures (and mis-adventures!) along the way and second daring rescue at the end. Grandpa also tells some more of his amazing-but-true stories from the old railways. 30 more watercolour pictures by John Wardle.

 

This is number 4 in Peter's Railway .

There are 96 pages in this book. This book was published 2010 by Christopher Vine .

Christopher Vine has always been fascinated by all things mechanical and electrical. In fact his first words were "Turn it on" and "Turn it off" which just about covered everything of interest. He started making things early on with his first working go-kart at the age of seven. It had a car battery and starter motor as motive power and a morse key as the switch. The next dangerous device was a motor bike made from a tiny child's bicycle and a lawn mower engine. The drive involved a large and vital pulley from his mother's washing machine. So started a lifetime of making things. The only thing he wanted for his eleventh birthday was a lathe. An old one was found for GBP 20 which although worn out did, produce a small stationary steam engine, a Stuart Turner No. 10. Whilst he is a Chartered Engineer, his great interest has always been railways, steam engines and, in particular, model engineering.

This book has the following chapters: Chapter 1 The Big Freeze; Chapter 2 Charge the Drift!; Chapter 3 Fairy Hillocks; Chapter 4 Station Lights; Chapter 5 The Watermill; Chapter 6 Construction Begins; Chapter 7 The Dukes Dog; Chapter 8 Wired Up; Chapter 9 Throw the Switch; Chapter 10 The Steam Car (Mis)Adventure; Chapter 11 Railway to the Rescue. Technical Contents; Snow ploughs; Ice bursting pipes; What is electricity; Circuits and Switches; Watermills; Energy and Power; Motors and Generators; Driving a Locomotive; Boiler and Piston/Cylinder.