NONFICTION - Nov. 24, 1985

THE RAILWAY MURDERS by Jonathan Goodman (Allison & Busby: $13.95). For some, the clickety-clack of railroad wheels is like a lover’s whisper, diesel fumes are sweet perfume and the schedules of defunct train lines are poetry. For them, “The Railway Murders” is a proper valentine. This British collection of true crime stories, all railroad-related, offers 10 accounts of murder, ranging from a fatal robbery in 1864 to an unexplained stabbing in the London Underground in 1957. Crime historian Jonathan Goodman, who edited the collection, contributed the highlights to the book--a witty introduction, and an essay that tells how in 1934, a body stowed in a trunk in Brighton led to the discovery of another murder. The other writers present dry accounts, little more than lengthy newspaper reports of old crimes. The excessive detail may show that a writer has done his homework, but except for train fanatics, it is rather tedious. The best test to determine if you are a locomotive-phile, and will enjoy this book, comes with the first paragraph in the first story: “On the night of Saturday, 9 July 1864, a suburban train on the North London Railway left Fenchurch Street station for Chalk Farm at 9.50. It left the next station, Bow, at 10.1; Hackney Wick, or Victoria Park, at 10.5; and arrived at Hackney about six minutes later. . . . “