Henry, Jessie, Vioet and Benny Alden are brothers and sisters - and tehy're orphans. The only way they can stay together is to make it on their own. One night, during a storm, the children find an old red boxcar that keeps them warm and safe. They decide to make it their home.

"Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny used to live in a boxcar. Now they have adventures everywhere they go. At a lighthouse, the children find a mystery in the night!"

In the year before they become the orphans known as the Boxcar children, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden live with their parents at Fair Meadow Farm, where, although times are hard, they take in a family who has been stranded in their car during a blizzard.

Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden are on another summer trip to visit Aunt Jane at Mystery Ranch. They're thrilled to find their friend Mike Wood lives in the bustling new town near the ranch. But one night, Mike's house burns down and he is blamed for starting the fire!

The Aldens are visiting Port Elizabeth when a bad storm rolls in, knocking out the power--and leaving behind a mystery! Can the powered-down Aldens figure out what's going on?

Four orphaned and homeless siblings happen upon an abandoned boxcar, which, with a little creativity and hard work, they gradually furnish with all the comforts of home. Fearful that they will be sent to live with the reputedly cruel grandfather they have never met, the children keep their new home a secret--until a serious illness forces them to reveal themselves in order to save young Violet.