Short Lines: Classic American Railroad Stories

The influence of the railroad on the lives of Americans was at its height roughly between 1900 and 1950. Americans not only rode the rails in unparalleled numbers, they also wrote and read about this mode of transportation. The railroad story was a distinct popular genre during those years, crowding the pages of such magazines as McClure's, Scribner's, and The Saturday Evening Post. The stories in this collection date from 1897 through 1941. Presented here is some of the best work of the best railroad writers, as well as classic stories by their better-known contemporaries, such as Frank Norris, Owen Wister, Jack London, O. Henry, Christopher Morley, and Thomas Wolfe. Although the early golden age of the iron horse that inspired the railroad genre has faded away, these stories - many long out of print until now - remain finely crafted, untarnished masterpieces. Something about the discipline and precision of machinery found its way into these writers' prose. Railroad stories help to define America: the driving wanderlust, modernity slicing through the heartland - this brave newfoundland continually being found. With their stories of our nation's thundering industrial past lit with humor, these writers captured America's most enduring characteristics. Railroad stories are an example of all things old becoming new again.