Train Travel

Growing up in the bustling railroad town of Norfolk, Virginia, and joining his conductor grandfather on overnight runs, future Fortune journalist Rush Loving was enchanted with railroads at an early age. In this extraordinary inside look at eight decades of the railroad industry and some of its greatest leaders, Loving reminisces about his colorful people, and fascinating anecdotes. Chatting with brakemen, engineers, and executives, Loving shares stories he collected in locomotive cabs, business cars, executive suites, and even the White House.

When Monisha Rajesh announced plans to circumnavigate the globe in 80 train journeys, she was met with wide-eyed disbelief. But it wasn’t long before she was carefully plotting a route that would cover 45,000 miles - almost twice the circumference of the earth - coasting along the world’s most remarkable railways; from the cloud-skimming heights of Tibet’s Qinghai railway to silk-sheeted splendour on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. Packing up her rucksack - and her fiancé, Jem, Monisha embarks on an unforgettable adventure.

In Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, Paul Theroux retraces the steps he took thirty years ago in his classic The Great Railway Bazaar. From the Eurostar in London, he once again sets out on a journey to the East, travelling overland through Eastern Europe, India and Asia. Infused with the changes that have shaped the exterior landscape and enriched with developments to his own perceptions and psychology, Ghost Train to the Eastern Star is an absorbing and beautifully written follow-up to The Great Railway Bazaar.

Tom Zoellner loves trains with a ferocious passion. In his new audiobook he chronicles the innovation and sociological impact of the railway technology that changed the world, and could very well change it again. From the frigid Trans-Siberian Railroad to the antiquated Indian Railways to the futuristic maglev trains, Zoellner offers a stirring story of man's relationship with trains. Zoellner examines both the mechanics of the rails and their engines and how they helped societies evolve. Not only do trains transport people and goods in an efficient manner, but they also reduce pollution and dependency upon oil.

Watch the landscapes shift as travelers board and disembark a train in this Audible Sleep story told by John Stamos. Travel through cities and over shimmering waters reflecting the moon, enjoying the steady chug of the train’s engine as you drift off to sleep.

Why do people love trains so much? Tom Chesshyre is on a mission to find the answer by experiencing the world through train travel - on both epic and everyday rail routes, aboard every type of ride, from steam locomotives to bullet trains, meeting a cast of memorable characters who share a passion for train travel. Join him on the rails and off the beaten track as he embarks on an exhilarating whistle-stop tour around the globe, on journeys on celebrated trains and railways.

Lionel Walk, better known as Train, is a young black caddy at an elite Los Angeles golf course. There, he navigates between careless hostility of patrons and the volatile brutality of the other caddies. One day, he finds an unexpected protector: police sergeant Miller Packer, who Train dubs "the Mile-Away Man" for his distant gaze. Packer is investigating a botched and bloody boat hijacking that left a lone survivor: achingly beautiful Norah Still.

Through the stories of fellow travelers, Greene explores the challenges and opportunities facing the new Russia: a nation that boasts open elections and newfound prosperity yet still continues to endure oppression, corruption, and stark inequality. Set against the wintery landscape of Siberia, Greene’s lively travel narrative offers a glimpse into the soul of 20th century Russia: how its people remember their history and look forward to the future.

The I Escaped Series: The World's Favorite New Escapes. Survival Stories For Today's Generation Bestselling author Scott Peters tackles the El Ayat train disaster in this gripping account of the 2002 train accident in Egypt for modern young readers.15-year-old Sam is thrilled to be riding a rickety train on a family vacation in Egypt. It sure is different than America! But as the train screeches through the night, a fire erupts in one of the cars. Smoke and sparks begin to spread, and Sam is shocked when the train picks up speed, racing into the dark night. Doesn't the driver know the train...

A final African adventure from the writer whose gimlet eye and effortless prose have brought the world to generations of readers. Journeying alone, in what he feels will be his last African journey, Paul Theroux encounters a world increasingly removed from both the itineraries of tourists and the hopes of post-colonial independence movements. Having travelled down the right-hand side of Africa in Dark Star Safari, he sets out this time from Cape Town, heading northwards up the left-hand side, through South Africa and Namibia, to Botswana, heading for the Congo, in search of the end of the line.

Escaping the rat race for a few happy weeks, Tom Chesshyre indulges in the freedom of the tracks. From France (dogged by rail worker strikes) through Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Poland he goes, travelling as far east as Odessa by the Black Sea in Ukraine. With no set plans, simply a desire to let the trains lead the way, his trip takes him onwards via Hungary, the Balkans and Austria. Along the way he enjoys many an encounter, befriending fellow travellers as well as a conductor or two. This is a love letter to Europe, written from the trackside.

Collette Donaldson never should have taken her boyfriend to her cousin’s wedding. Or introduced him to her parents. After a disastrous weekend, all she wants is to get back home and sort out the mess that had once been her relationship. A heartbreaking fight, a flat tire, and an inconvenient storm leave her and Seth no other option than to stay the night at a quaint bed-and-breakfast. But when Collette finds an antique photograph of herself, circumstances quickly shift from weird to unimaginable.

A woman running for her life… A man determined to save her… A terrible scheme to trap her... Samantha Hayes didn’t intend to eavesdrop. She was merely getting a breath of fresh air when she heard her fiancé reveal his plot to end her life soon after they wed. He needed her fortune, but he had no intention of being bound to a woman who limped. She had only agreed to marry him due to her uncle’s pleading. Now she knew the truth and she vowed she would disappear. Pinkerton Agent Kent Butler has been hired by Samantha’s aunt to find her. He follows her to Council Bluffs, where she ...

Dreams of adventure send him across the country. She prefers to keep her feet firmly planted in Ohio. Rennie Hill has no illusions about the hardships in life, which is why it’s so important her beau, John Welch, keeps his secure job with the newspaper. Though he hopes to write fiction, the unsteady pay would mean an end to their plans, wouldn’t it? John Welch dreams of adventure worthy of storybooks, like Mark Twain, and when two of his short stories are published, he sees it as a sign of future success. But while he's dreaming big with his head in the clouds, his girl has her feet ...

Michael Williams has spent the past year travelling along the fascinating rail byways of Britain for this new collection of journeys. Here is the 'train to the end of the world' running for more than four splendid hours through lake, loch and moorland from Inverness to Wick, the most northerly town in Britain. He discovers a perfect country branch line in London’s commuterland, and travels on one of the slowest services in the land along the shores of the lovely Dovey estuary to the far west of Wales. Here is a unique travel companion celebrating the treasures of our railway heritage....

In Last Train to Texas, author Fred W. Frailey examines the workings behind the railroad industry and captures incredible true stories along the way. Come along with Frailey as he travels the world, one railroad at a time. Whether it's riding the Canadian Pacific Railway through a blizzard, witnessing a container train burglary in the Abo Canyon, or commemorating a poem to Limerick Junction in Dublin, Ireland, Frailey's journeys are rife with excitement and the occasional mishap.

Can fortune-telling prevent a war? Nexus and friends expect to enjoy their studies in sumptuous luxury on planet Sihnon, with leisure and elbow room. A few domestic misadventures in housing, medicine, and chopsticks, and they’re ready for deluxe virtual reality learning. First project, reassemble Space Academy from storage. Because with lifespans stretching centuries, the Colony Corps simply hires experienced crew. Next, a juicy mystery to unravel. Humans first learned of advanced aliens while investigating what killed a colony world. Too late, they found a hazard buoy left to warn off ...

The great rock-n-roll band, Rush, once sang, “The point of a journey is not to arrive.” Steve Hallock’s new novel, Sweet Cherry Sunday, echoes that conceit as well as any writing of recent years.The story of Michael’s trip home to a childhood friend’s funeral is told with the serenity of a trip well-taken. Rather than fly or drive, he rides a train through the Great Plains, a motif that supports the steady forward ambling of the narrative, and allows the protagonist to reflect on the aging years and the separation from home.

Appetite for America is the incredible real-life story of Fred Harvey - told in depth for the first time ever. As a young immigrant, Fred Harvey worked his way up from dishwasher to household name. With the verve and passion of Fred Harvey himself, Stephen Fried tells the story of how this visionary built his business from a single lunch counter into a family empire whose marketing and innovations we still encounter in myriad ways. Inspiring, instructive, and hugely entertaining, Appetite for America is historical biography that is as richly rewarding.

Tent City. It was where everyone headed when they were down on their luck. It was a place where you could reinvent yourself and cans of chili could be bartered out for smokes. There, you didn’t have to have jobs and as long as you didn’t steal from your neighbors, well, things worked out. But when Tent City closes and Layla and Gene have nowhere to go, the next best bet is to again hit the road. With seven dollars, a van, and a full tank of gas, it’s time to get back on the grid. Only, where will they go?