A NEW biography examines the life of an author whose most famous work signalled bright times ahead for a fledgling railway.

The book spotlights the extraordinary Edith Nesbit, best remembered for The Railway Children.

Her timeless novel was turned into a classic family film, shot on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway (K&WVR).

The release of the movie – starring Jenny Agutter, Dinah Sheridan and Bernard Cribbins – in 1970 had a massive impact on the railway, which had been opened by volunteer enthusiasts just two years earlier.

“The railway wasn’t struggling but it was still establishing itself,” said Oakworth man Graham Mitchell.

He was a newly-qualified guard on the K&WVR at the time and appeared in that role in the film.

“When the film unit arrived – based mainly at Oakworth – it had an enormous effect on the valley and the community,” said Mr Mitchell.

“A lot of local people were involved, such as Haworth Band and the fire service, which had to supply water for the rain scenes because it was a long, hot and dry summer.

“Also, at that time people weren’t used to seeing film crews. Nowadays you see them everywhere, but back then it was a big event for the valley and attracted a lot of attention.

“Then when the film was released at Christmas, everyone wanted to see it. It was premiered at the old Rix cinema in Keighley, as well as in London.”

The effect on the railway was felt almost immediately.

Passenger numbers doubled, as people wanted to travel on the same five-mile line they’d seen on the big screen and visit the locations – such as Oakworth Station – familiar to them from the movie.

“We couldn’t cope with the numbers,” recalls Mr Mitchell, who went on to spend more than three decades in uniformed roles on the railway and served as chairman for 12 years.

“In those early days it was a single-track railway so we were only able to use one train.

“We had to extend the infrastructure in order to double the capacity.”

Even today, 48 years after the movie was released and despite the fact countless more big and small-screen productions have been filmed there, the K&WVR is still synonymous in many people’s minds with The Railway Children.

Less familiar to most will be the amazing life that was led by Edith Nesbit.

The Extraordinary Life of E Nesbit: Author of Five Children and It and The Railway Children throws light on it.

Published to coincide with the 160th anniversary of her birth, the book reveals how Nesbit – a cigar-smoking socialist and founder of the Fabian Society, in which the Labour Party has its roots – held wild bohemian parties, frequented by George Bernard Shaw and HG Wells.

But in tandem with her ‘colourful’ personal life, she was a prolific and hugely well-loved writer.

She penned more than 100 novels, plays and poetry collections for children and adults right up until 1923, the year before her death.

Elisabeth Galvin, author of the biography, said: “Ever since I was a child I’ve loved reading and one of my favourites when I was young was The Railway Children.

“Since having children I have rediscovered classics for younger readers and when I realised that Edith Nesbit’s life was even more colourful than her fiction, I couldn’t resist suggesting her to Pen & Sword as a subject for a biography.”

* The Extraordinary Life of E Nesbit: Author of Five Children and It and The Railway Children is published in hardback by Pen & Sword History and retails at £19.99.