Collected side stories · in print

Sidings

Stories from the sidings, where the mainline can be seen whole. The side stories collected as a series of small printed books — quieter than the novels, each one following someone the timetable never mentions. Every story stands alone; nothing here spoils the books.

Sidings Volume I cover art — the train receding across the plain at sunset
Volume I

Four stories from the world of The Meridian

The Meridian is a train the size of a nation, and it does not stop for anyone. These are four stories from its margins — of the people the timetable never mentions.

  1. I Dead Letters A brother and sister carrying a letter no one will take delivery of.
  2. II What Powers the Train A maintenance worker whose junction rattles in the wrong key.
  3. III The Station Keeper A station keeper whose books balance a hundred years too neatly.
  4. IV The Alighting A hauler on a platform, learning what the train looks like from the outside.
Interior PDF 68pp · 3.2 MB Cover spread PDF 0.4 MB

Print-ready for Mixam UK: A5 perfect-bound, 68 pages, black & white on uncoated stock, full-colour laminated cover.

The plates

Each story opens with a full-page monochrome frontispiece.

Plate I — Dead Letters
Plate I — Dead Letters
Plate II — What Powers the Train
Plate II — What Powers the Train
Plate III — The Station Keeper
Plate III — The Station Keeper
Plate IV — The Alighting
Plate IV — The Alighting