Were the answers to the armchair treasure hunt "Search for the Lost Railway Engine" by Steve and Pauline...

[ Editor: a letter from Pauline Bane, forwarded to treasure@questrel.com
by Mark Parry <mparry@mertec.co.uk> in November 1997.  The book is
listed in treasure/treasure.biblio. ]

Search for the Lost Railway Engine

I realise that it has now been many years since publication of Search
for the Lost Railway Engine by Steve and Pauline Bane.  The closing date
for entries was June 1992 and no completely correct answers were
received.

Since correspondence is still being received asking for answers, I am
writing to let everyone know that they have now been published, in
their entirety on the Internet, accessible on:-

http://freespace.virgin.net/pauline.banes

Some of you may already be aware that Steve died at the end of January
1994 - at 44 he was cheated of the long life he deserved.  Since his
death I have been unaided in trying to find a way to publish the
answers to the competition and I had originally planned a booklet.  For
various reasons, mostly economic, this never came to fruition.

I am certain Steve would have wanted me to "do something" about the
book so this is my chance to let people know the answers.  Anyone who
enjoyed the book is invited to make a donation direct to the Intensive
Care Unit at Weston super Mare General Hospital, Grange Road, Uphill,
Weston super Mare, Somerset England - it would be much appreciated.
(Cheques should be made payable to the Weston Area Health Trust and
your letter should make it clear that the donation is for Intensive
Care - thank you).

The Gold Engine has been donated by the publishers to The British Heart
Foundation for them to auction for their funds.

Thank you for your past interest and for taking the time to read this
letter.

-- Pauline Bane

[ Editor: the answers themselves are not in the collected material. ]

[ Editor: the opening page of Pauline Bane's Web site with the answers,
converted from HTML.  Only this page is in the collected material; its
table of contents (Opening Page, Puzzle, Book Intro, Pages 8-9 through
Pages 38-39, Conclusion) links to pages that are not. ]

Search for the Lost Railway Engine

Dear Reader

Welcome to the answers to Search for the Lost Railway Engine.

For those of you who remember, Search for the Lost Railway Engine was
first published in 1989 and was a treasure-hunting book with several
riddles to be solved.  The closing date for entries was in June 1992
and no completely correct answers were received.  I still receive
correspondence asking for answers so have published these pages to
satisfy the curious.  As pointed out to everyone, there is no longer a
competition and no prize but if you really want to keep looking for
the engine then DO NOT ENTER THIS SITE FURTHER for the answers are
here!

When Steve and I wrote Search for the Lost Railway Engine we were full
of hopes for the future.  Steve always wanted fame and fortune - well
the fame more than the fortune if the truth were told.  We certainly
didn't make any fortune out of the book but we had a lot of fun with it
and had our "fifteen minutes of fame" in both the press and on local
radio stations.  Steve loved every minute of it.  Sadly, he died at the
end of January 1994 - at 44 he was cheated of the long life he
deserved.  I am certain he would have wanted me to "do something" about
the book so this is my chance to let people know the answers.

Anyone who enjoyed the book is invited to make a donation direct to the
Intensive Care Unit at Weston super Mare General Hospital, Grange Road,
Uphill, Weston super Mare, Somerset, England - it would be much
appreciated.  (Cheques should be made payable to the Weston Area Health
Trust and your letter should make it clear that the donation is for
Intensive Care - thank you).

The puzzle apparently caused more than a few sleepless nights for those
who attempted to solve it so I now welcome you to the answers.  If they
seem crazy to you or if you don't understand them, please don't lay all
the blame at my feet.  They were mostly the workings of Steve's mind
and I cannot be held responsible!  Where a clue is linked with a place,
product, factory etc. the facts were correct in 1989 - I cannot confirm
that the same is true today.

The gold engine has been donated by the publishers to The British Heart
Foundation for them to auction for their funds.

Regards

Pauline Bane

-- Pauline Bane <pauline@imagine-it.co.uk>