Description
Book Synopsis1) Behind the scenes look at the railroad industry from an industry insider.
2) Features stories and history of railroad owners, conductors, and others throughout the past four decades.
3) Author is very well known in the railroad industry and is interested in events.
4) Railroad memoirs have sold well for IUP.
Trade ReviewLast Train to Texas depicts modern railroading, warts and all, though a fascinating amalgam of stories. Readers finish understanding Frailey's love of railroading because of the breadth of his narratives.
-- Mark Lardas * The Daily News Galveston *
...a terrific read, a collection of short, snappy essays that mirror Fred's ceaseless curiosity about not only the business of railroading, but more importantly its people.
-- Kevin Keefe * Trains Magazine *
This book is more than just about a rail line re-birth in Nowheresville, Texas. Rather, it is an outstanding anthology of 46 short stores compiled by Fred Frailey recounting his rail adventures over the past four decades. The author's writing style is contemporary, straightforward, and entertaining with its clever wit.
-- David J Mrozek * The Michigan Railfan *
"...this book is a pleasent diversion, perfect for pool-side reading. Longtime followers of Fred W. Frailey will want to read this book."
-- Bill Hough * The NRHS Bulletin *
Table of ContentsForeword by Thomas G. Hoback
Part I: Running the Railroads
1. President Carter to the Rescue
2. The Man You Never Wanted to Cross
3. Watch Rob Run
4. Thinking Outside the Container
5. The World According to Mcclellan
6. The Saga of 'Pisser Bill'
7. A Man in Full
8. Mike Haverty's Long Shadow
9. How to Go Boots Up in Railroading
10. The Battles of Powder River
11. When Lou Menk Saved a Zephyr
12. Inside the Mind of Michael Ward
13. The Legacy of Hunter Harrison
14. A Battle for Supremacy in the West
Part II: Travels around Trains
15. The Cocoon of a Long-Distance Train
16. No Place for Man or Beast . . . or Train
17. The Ladies from Cork Are Aghast
18. Crossing the Country in a Blur
19. Ode to a Coach Yard
20. By Train to the End of the Earth
21. Pencil-Whipping Train 101
22. I Plead the Fifth
23. My Prestigious Experience
24. The Late, Late Train
25. The Train to Cordoba
26. You Gotta Love the Soo Line
27. New York City, Then
28. New York City, Now
29. Best Little Railroad in Effingham
30. Last Train to Texas
31. Railroading in a Fiery Furnace
32. Night Train to Nowhere
Part III: Kicking the Train Down the Tracks
33. Miss Katy's Funny Pieces of Paper
34. Moments I'd Rather Forget
35. The Timeless Clovis Sub
36. What's the Matter with Florida?
37. The Brain Drain
38. A Little Drawbridge that Couldn't
39. That Commodore Vanderbilt Feeling
40. The Ageless World of Stan Kistler
41. Saturday Night Fever
42. Who Really Saved Illinois Central
43. Why You May Yet Read by Candlelight
44. 14th Street at Night
45. The Wreck of Old 54
46. The Mother of All Traffic Jams
