Customer Reviews

Writing the Rails: Train Adventures By the World's Best-Loved Writers

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4 star:		(1)
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I found this a very good book, even though I skipped through several selections.First of all,this is not a book about the lore of Railroading.If it were, it would have been about the people who operated and serviced these wonderful trains.I knew many Railroaders and their jobs were much more than a job,it was a passion with them.My father was a Railroader and I grew up listening to all the stories about storms,accidents,breakdowns,late arrivals,special customers,hobo's, union strikes,and on and on.I can remember during WW11,the troop trains going through my town with all the windows covered.I also remember the company rounding up all available men to take "down the line" to help dig out by shovel the train stuck in a 20 foot deep cutting filled with snow.I made dozens of trips by rail in Nova Scotia;but none compared with the three return trips I made from NS to British Columbia ;particularly in the dome car.This book relates experiences these writers had in travelling by rail and while reading them;many similar memories were brought back to me.
About the time I was finishing High School,my father asked me what I would like to do.Living in a small Railway town ;two "high tech" jobs were Dispatcher (Morse Code and all) and the Watchmaker who checked and repaired the Railroader's watches.My Dad said I should give it a little more thought.One day the watches won't need repairs and one day Morse Code will be replaced.Little did he know that not only are those jobs gone;but so is the Railway,trains,tracks,stations and people now say my town "used to be a railway town."
Overall this book has a large variety of stories ,by many well known writers and thoroughly enjoyable.

This absorbing anthology takes us back to a simpler time when trains united both nations and continents, influencing cultures as no other form of transportation had done before, bringing our forebears into the modern era. This is a surprising book with many twists and turns -- much like the railway lines themselves. What starts as a pleasant journey of delicate sunset hues and the hypnotic rumbling of the wheels suddenly turns tragic as the train derails. Five passenger cars lie contorted and maimed as incarcerated passengers scream in terror. Magical excursions take place on obscure wilderness tracks, winding their way through picturesque mountains and valleys and deserts, rich with wildflowers and coyote-song. A surrealistic ride across the Trans-Caspian Railway captures our imagination in all its spectral gloom and esoteric desolation. The history of the New York subway comes alive with mind-boggling logistics of constructing vast tunnels under what was, even then, a large bustling city. Writing the Rails is a must-read for railroad aficionados, history buffs, and those who enjoy the charm of days gone by. Mr. Goodman should be commended for this fine work, as he has done a remarkable job in assembling this superb compilation.

The book arrived in excellent condition and in just a couple days. My grandson by marriage was very pleased with it as he is a railroad fan.

From Langston Hughes ,charles Dickens,John steinbeck,Czar Alexander III,and more...80 plus authors..It seems every word ever said or written regarding a train is compiled in this book. Poets,authors,kings,popes ect... If you love trains,if you love a great book that tells almost all that could be said this one may be your adventure of the rails without leaving your chair..I loved it,