November 2014 Free Book!
This month our free book is an inspirational romance by award winning novelist, Karen Witemeyer. Set in the old west, STEALING THE PREACHER is a delightful romp.
From the back cover:
“Crockett Archer can’t believe it when he’s forced off a train by an outlaw and presented to the man’s daughter as the preacher she requested for her birthday. He’s determined to escape — which would be much easier if he could stop thinking about Joanna Robbins and her unexpected request.”
Our give-away edition is a new trade paperback. To have your name entered in our Thursday, November 20 drawing, just answer this question:
Trains were a normal mode of transportation in the 1800s, but not quite so familiar now. Have you ever ridden on a passenger train? If so, where?
Blessings!
Sue
No I never have but I would like to.
When I was about nine, my mother and two of my brothers and I rode the train from Tacoma, Wa. to near Lake Worth, Fla. In Chicago, we had to go from one train station to another. We rode in a limo and all I remember were all the tall buildings. That was a great adventure and I remember a lot of it. I’ve also ridden up and down the coast from northern California to Washington many times. I really enjoy riding the train.
Riding on a train has got to be one of our last luxurious means of travel. My first remembrance of ever seeing a train and actually riding one happened when I was nine years old. We travelled from Toronto to Missanabie which is north of Chapleau, Ontario. There was no access road at that time, but there was a road leading ten miles more into a small town named Renabie, a gold mining town.
When I was around twelve I got blood poisoning somehow and had to be taken to the hospital in Chapleau the same day. My mom and I caught the train to get there. I did recover enough without having my arm amputated, thankfully.
When it was time to start high school we, my sister and I, had to take the train to Sudbury and then also back on holidays. We always hd a good time on the train. The porters were all black and so well trained in there jobs and so polite and respectful. They made everyone feel special. Even the conducter was nice.
Another time a was on the train was when my son was a small baby and we were travelling to Calgary from Northern Ontario. The porters kept my milk bottles in the fridge for me and would also heat them when I wanted one. There was a separate dining car which had wonderful meals and service. One car had an observation window which offered great views. It was a good trip.
Now I reside in Sault Ste. Marie we have a wonderful tour train that makes an all day trip north of here sometimes picking up campers, skiers or just people going from one small place to another, but mainly it is for tours that take several hours to get to its final stop, resting so tourists can go hiking and sightseeing and picnicing there before coming back into town. Many people from all over the world come here just to ride on the “Algoma Tour Train” especially those from the States as they are our closest neighbors.
I think that everyone should take the train at least once in their lifetime.
I got on the train in 1981 in Jackson, Michigan headed to San Antonio for my second sons high school graduation. In Hope, Arkansas the train was derailed by a broken rail. We all tumbled out as smoke poured back from the engine brakes. Walking thru a field to private homes we were met by school buses sent to transport us to the livestock coliseum. There is a lot to this story but hours later after a catered chicken dinner, I was on a bus with 2 drivers to San Antonio. They closed a restaurant to accommodate the passengers on the bus. Amtrak had sent charter busses, cabs, whatever they could to get passengers on to their destinations. The REAL story tho, were the people I met on that train. Maybe Ill write it sometime.
Yes I did, just this past June. I traveled from Tacoma Wa to Kalispell Mt. I really enjoyed it. My husband had passed away in March and I really needed to do something different. I went back to visit with family. It was a long ride but was good time to remember the good times with him.
I love all these stories!! Thank you for sharing!
When I was younger, I would go into our little town and watch the passenger train pass on thru and wonder where & what they are doing? And if they are heading to a larger city to eat off the best china, and have tea, and wear the best dress/suit. They no long have those passenger trains going thru our town. They still have trains going thru constantly with who know what on in them. Back then it was great to dream of the passenger trains.
I was on a train from New Orleans to Atlanta with my oldest son, Ryan. It was so nice to sit and talk with him after a week long mission trip
helping clean up after Hurricane Katrina.
Went to England , Got a month Britrail Pass and stayed at bed and breakfasts and caught the next train in a day or so. Wonderful memories.
Bob and I took the train from Ann Arbor to Seattle, Wa. We went from Ann Arbor to Chicago; then a thru train on to Denver, where the train split into two. We went on to Seattle, the other to San Francisco. Beautiful trip seeing the beautiful green of Iowa and then the majestic mountains between Colorado and Oregon. We decided to come home thru Montana (western Montana) gorgeous, on thru the Dakota’s (very brown and flat). Coming thru the twin cities our train hit a truck on the track. Fortunately, the gentleman was able to get out in time! Wonderful way to travel!
I have ridden a passenger train once in my life and it was with my son, my dear Cousin Bonnie and a good friend Mary. We went on our adventure train from Anchorage to Plamer this past summer to get to the State Fair and the ride was awesome. My son kept calling the train, “Thomas train.” I had taken about 20 pictures of him jist in the train and he loved it. It was a nice and relaxing train ride and many excited kids and parents bringing their loved ones to the fair. I am pretty sure we will take the train again next year to the State Fair cause we had an awesome experience.
Thanksgiving 1965: My family had moved from East Tennessee to Arkansas the previous summer, and the four of us traveled by train from Memphis to Erwin, to celebrate the holiday with Mother and Dad’s dear friends, Mr. and Mrs. Bean. As I recall, it took the whole day, and we arrived late in the afternoon for Thanksgiving dinner. On the return trip, we happened around a curve and could see the back of our train from our window. Instead of more passenger cars, there were several box cars. We had no idea where they came from or when we had acquired them!
Dad worked for the railroad for a number of years and one of his job benefits was half-price and/or free rides for the family on the train, with connections from NYC to Chicago and NYC to Florida. 🙂 We (mostly) traveled the Eastern Seaboard, going from NYC to North Carolina and back. Back then, there were dining cars, community sleeper cars with multiple bunk beds, as well as private sleeper units. It was a much better way to travel than by automobile.
Mom and I took the train from Memphis to Detroit when I was. Baby. More recently I took the train to Chicago to shop and see a show.
My greatest adventure on a train: my one and only. I moved out to Utah with a one-way ticket from New York State where I’d grown up my whole life! My life and electric typewriter was in a trunk, my 10-speed in pieces in a shipping box. I sat in the cheap seats and the AC was broken on FREEZE. P.S. Ohio is a very wide state.