Customer Reviews

Snow on the Rails: Tales of Heartland Railroading

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Heartland railroaders are a hardy breed, tempered by the elements and the rough and tumble of the rail industry.

Here in "Snow on the Rails: Tales of Heartland Railroading," folktale collector and outdoor writer Dennis Boyer explores the culture and characters that represent railroading in the Midwest. Boyer takes his extensive knowledge of legend and lore and creates accessible literary form which reveals the poignant human moments that echo in this massive web of steel and machines.

Each story explores a place and a person that is uniquely Midwest in flavor. Train crews, mechanics, track laborers, and station workers take us to rail yards, lonesome prairies, decrepit hotels, deep forests, and industrial cities.

From labor strikes to cattle drives, from the fine linen of dining cars to the grime of the big railroad shop complexes - the full range of behind the scenes train and track tales are brought to life for rail fans and readers of heartland lore.

Snow On The Rails: Tales Of Heartland Railroading by Dennis Boyer brings together bits of railroading legend and lore that recreate the human emotion behind the legacy of the Midwest railway system. Told in a folksy, down-to-earth style, this engaging railroading anthology is a most enjoyable read and is most especially recommended for railroad enthusiasts and railway history buffs. No personal or community library Railroad History collection can be considered comprehensive without the inclusion of Dennis Boyer's Snow On The Rails!

I have read Boyer's "Driftless Spirits" and thought it was excellent. I am now trying to find a copy to buy. I live in the midwest and love trains, and liked "Driftless Spirits" so much that I purchased "Snow On The Rails" without even glancing inside it. What a mistake! Most of these railroading stories could be excellent, but every one that I have read is full of obscenities and other vulgarisms. Plus explicit descriptions of lesbianism in at least two of them. "Driftless Spirits" contains nothing like this. The really sad part is that these stories could be told without these vulgarisms. They add nothing, in my opinion. I suppose that today, many people believe that such things add "realism" and "character" to a book. If you are such a person, grab this book, it will thrill you. For any of you who may still have a sense of aesthetics, don't waste any time or money on this trash.