Dear PDX- Ahhh!, so much to enjoy here, from the understated pantheism in the book to the telling
caricature of Victorian/Edwardian society in the characterizations by animals to a not-so-unreal nostalgia for a vanished England (or maybe a dormant one, with preserved railways abundant and disused canals being slowly rebuilt, including possibly, the one near Graeme's setting of the adventures). Alas, the illustrator took artistic license with the train, getting the locomotives (loosely)right, but sparing the difficulty of getting the "coaches" right by colouring them Toad Green instead of (horizontal) Brown and Cream, which was standard from 1842 to 1948 on the GWR, fondly known as the Great Way Round or God's Wonderful Railway, depending on your most recent trip. The 7ft. gauge locomotives in the Gwr Museum in Swindon are something to see.