Ghost Train

by Lyle Harper

The O'Malleys, for three generations, had served the Southwestern railroad and Terry was the last of the men of the third generation to get a job on the system. His older brothers, John and Tim, were now pulling the throttles on two of the fastest runs on the system, Tim on the Western express and John on the fast mail. Terry was proud of the ability of his brothers and he was determined to be equally successful.

Terry worked part time at the local station as an assistant agent in his last year of high school and upon graduation planned to be hired on full time by the Southwestern. Mountain railroading was dangerous work and Terry found adventure working the line.

119 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1932

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK, I really enjoyed this book. It's a children's book from 1932 that I doubt any child of today would be able to follow. The story revolves around Terry who is graduating from high school and looking for a career on the railway in the mountains. This is in the era of steam and the book does not hold back with the railway terminology of the day. I have an interest in the railways and was able to follow the story easily, but I expect most people would have some difficulty.

But for me, I really enjoyed it. It's a fascinating look back at the steam era in its prime.

[Brenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was in my husband's grandparents' house. When they were cleaning it out to auction everything off, I grabbed all of the old books I could pack into my trunk. This is a typical boy's book from the early '30s. It was kind of interesting since it was all about the train system in California at that time. However, I was very glad that it was only 119 pages long. I don't think any of my students today would be interested in it.