I have always been fascinated with the railroad.  I love the sound of the train coming down the tracks, the far off whistle rolling across many miles.  I love to count the train cars as they pass by and watch in amazement as so many goods are transported continually throughout our country.  

I look forward with anticipation of viewing old wooden train trestles that run along mountainsides. This fascinates me that such engineering could be done with timber to hold up so much weight and withstand the elements over time.  

Our featured book this week in the Henning Public School library is “Across America on an Immigrant Train” written by Jim Murphy.  

The jacket cover reads “ Across America on an Emigrant Train follows a journey made in 1879 by the young writer Robert Louis Stevenson, when he set off from Scotland to join the woman he loved in California.  Because he had very little money, Stevenson chose the cheapest way to travel.  His traveling companions on his storm-tossed crossing of the Atlantic and arduous three thousand-mile train ride were emigrants who were hoping to settle in the vast new territories of the AMerican West.  Generously illustrated with eighty-five archival photographs, engravings, and lithographs, this book offers a unique and compelling look at America and the AMericans who persevered to build the railroad that moved the country into the twentieth century.”

This is a splendid book that is worth your time.  Have a wonderful first week of August and may you find yourself listening for the far off cry of the train whistle as it chugs on down the track.