The Railway Cat

by Phyllis Arkle, Stephanie Hawken (Illustrator)

A collection of five adventures in the life of Alfie, the irrepressible railway cat. He gets snow-bound, he saves a life from an out-of-control train, he is kidnapped and taken to London, and he has his usual scrapes and run-ins with Hack, the leading railman at the station.

Genres: Animals

83 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Debore]

This is a book me and my sister loved when we were children, they silver tabby cat, we felt, looked like our own cat- Smokey (who loved visiting the railway lines by our house) We loved reading about Alfie from the book and his adventures, collected grey cat plushies and ornaments, these books became our favorites. Then Smokey went missing, distraught we looked everywhere for him, eventually finding him sitting beside the railway lines with a bloated stomach- that night Smokey ran into my sister and I's room, wheezing he lay down beside my bed- he had come to say goodbye to the two little girls who loved him so. My mum took him downstairs and he died in her arms. We buried him beside the railway lines, our plushies went into the attic and we never spoke of The Railway Cat again. This week I found this book in a charity shop, I read it full of fond memories of both Alfie and our friend Smokey.

R.I.P Smokey. We will always love you.

[Capn]

Alright - fairly mundane stories, seemed well accepted by smol audience, but nothing terribly notable. We've got kind Fred and villainous Hack and Alfie who understands quite a good deal more than you'd expect a cat to. Naughty school boys, a train wreck, a elderly pensioner going blue with cold in a train stuck in a snowdrift, and catnapping and an enforced role in a Dick Wittington panto in London... Alfie lives a pretty exciting life.
Probably the best Phyllis Arkle book I've read - her fantasy is a bit wobbly.

[Benjamin Smith]

Whilst it is split in to chapters, these could almost be separate stories themselves. Well written and engaging tales. Large use of adverbs so could be useful when giving examples. Descriptive and enjoyable story.

[Gerry]

A charming story about the loveable Alfie, the railway cat at his local railway station.

Alfie was comfortable being the railway cat as he knew all the passengers that used the station and they all made a fuss of him. However a new Leading Railman named Hack had arrived and he did not like cats so he was not friendly with Alfie, indeed he more often than not ignored him.

After breakfast each day Alfie would roam the station and get up to various activities, most of which endeared him even more to the passengers. But Hack was determined to get rid of Alfie so he devised a cunning plan, which worked.

Alfie was very soon missed but fortuitously was spotted somewhere else, very much outwith his comfort zone, and this was reported back to the stationmaster. Fortunately this led to his recovery and return to his beloved station and eventually harmony was restored - even with Hack.

A splendid ending gives the book a warm feeling!

[Capn]

Railway Porter v Railway Cat
Who will win?

Alfie the railway cat lives at the station where he's a favourite with all the regular passengers. The only trouble is that Hack, the new railway porter, doesn't like cats and he soon has a plan for getting rid of Alfie.

An action-packed story, full of humour, suspense and charm.

[Joey]

This was my very favorite book for many years as a boy. I would listen to a cassette tape of the audio book almost every single night in bed. I don't even really like cats all that much, but there was something about these stories that captured my imagination more than almost anything else I read.

[Izzy Bradshaw]

A really cute story about a railway cat. Perfect to read in the classroom.

[Bev]

Cute book. Shame I never read it as a child.

[Alex]

A charming collection of stories featuring Alfie the Railway Cat. While written for a younger audience, as an older reader I throughly enjoyed it.

As a cat lover, I really liked Alfie as a character as well as Fred. My favourite stories included 'The Runaway Train' 'Alfie Is Marooned' and the stories where Alfie plays Dick Whittington's cat in London.

I would recommend this to a younger audience but there is also plenty for older readers to enjoy too.

[Kirsti]

A really cute story, and I'd recommend it for lovers of cats of all ages. Alfie is a sassy cat, always helping out, and these are his adventures. Watch as he comes against Hack, the rail station worker, time and time again. Part of a book of four I bought for a dollar.

[Marcus]

We might read this one later.