Top solicitor turned Railtrack chairman Geoffrey Howe will make headlines next month when his company attempts to sue Transport Secretary Stephen Byers over his decision to put the company into administration.

His brief is to win £1.8 billion in compensation for angry shareholders who stand to lose their investments - and it promises to be a bitter battle.

But to get away from the courtroom fray, Mr Howe will be able to escape to a windswept Pennine farmhouse outside Keighley.

The 52-year-old father-of-two bought the detached property overlooking Haworth - the 'capital' of the Bronte country where the three sisters wrote their classic novels - in September. At present the former farmhouse is a hive of activity as work progresses on restoring a barn.

But Mr Howe told the Telegraph & Argus that he soon hopes to be spending holidays and free time there with his wife and two children, aged three and five.

"We have a lot of family and friends in Bradford, Halifax and Leeds, so it's an ideal place. I have two young children and they have youngish cousins and we will be able to have family get-togethers," said Mr Howe, who wants to keep the location secret to prevent prying eyes.

He said he bought the place for its superb location, but not particularly because it was near the Keighley & Worth Valley railway, the private steam line that runs five miles from Keighley to Oxenhope.

"I am aware of the railway and I recall recently seeing actress Jenny Agutter talking about it and the Railway Children film on television. We haven't had chance to ride on it yet, but it's on the agenda," said Mr Howe who is a Lancastrian by birth.

And he hopes time spent at the house will enable him to renew his acquaintance with the novels of the Bronte sisters.

"I'm afraid it's a long time since I read the novels. As a young man I voraciously read all of them - but that's at least 30 years ago. Certainly I'll be re-reading them again," he added.

Mr Howe made his name and his fortune in the City's financial world and was for nine years managing director of top London law firm Clifford Chance.

He was appointed chairman of the Railtrack Group on March 7 and he will spearhead the legal battle from Railtrack's ultra modern, high tech offices in Euston Road in central London.

Railtrack is attempting to force Mr Byers to hand over all the documents relating to his decision to put the company into administration and it could result in the Transport Secretary appearing in a courtroom witness box to account for his actions.