Last Train to Texas
My Railroad Odyssey (Railroads Past and Present)
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Last Train to Texas
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Narrated by:
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Todd A. Thompson
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By:
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Fred W. Frailey
About this listen
In Last Train to Texas, author Fred W. Frailey examines the workings behind the railroad industry and captures incredible true stories along the way. Discover how men like William "Pisser Bill" F. Thompson swerve from financial ruin, bad merger deals, and cutthroat competition, all while racking up enough notoriety to inspire a poem titled "Ode to a Jerk". Bold, savvy, and ready for a friendly brawl, the only thing louder and more thrilling than these men are the trains that they handle. 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.
The book is published by Indiana University Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.
"Outstanding...The author's writing style is contemporary, straightforward, and entertaining with its clever wit. (The Michigan Railfan)
"A fascinating amalgam of stories." (The Daily News Galveston)
"A terrific read." (Trains Magazine)
©2020 Fred Frailey (P)2021 Redwood AudiobooksListeners also enjoyed...
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-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 100
This audiobook chronicles the birth and rise to greatness of the American auto industry through the life of Harley Earl, an eccentric six-foot-five, stuttering visionary who dropped out of college and went on to invent the profession of automobile styling, thereby revolutionized the way cars were made, marketed, and even imagined. Harleys Earl’s story qualifies as a bona fide American family saga. It began in the Michigan pine forest in the years after the Civil War, traveled across the Great Plains on the wheels of a covered wagon, and eventually settled in Hollywood, California.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Great report of amazing history but could do without the WOKE lean..
- By joshua Shaw on 07-02-22
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I Invented the Modern Age
- The Rise of Henry Ford and the Most Important Car Ever Made
- By: Richard Snow
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 728
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 631
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 626
In many ways, Henry Ford's story is well-known; in many more ways, it is not. Richard Snow masterfully weaves together a fascinating narrative of Ford's rise to fame through his greatest invention, the Model T. A highly pleasurable listen, filled with scenes and incidents from Ford's life, I Invented the Modern Age shows Richard Snow at the height of his powers as a popular historian and reclaims from history Henry Ford, the remarkable man who, indeed, invented the modern world as we know it.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Complicated Man
- By Jean on 11-23-13
By: Richard Snow
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Skygods
- The Fall of Pan Am
- By: Robert Gandt
- Narrated by: Thomas Block
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 416
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 375
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 370
Originally published by Wm. Morrow, in 1995, Skygods is the saga of America's most glamorous airline - from its meteoric ascent to its plunge to extinction. Pan Am blazed the way across the world's oceans with its magnificent Clipper ships, launched the first international jet service, was the first to fly the behemoth 747, was the lead customer for America's SST and the Concorde, and was even taking reservations for the first commercial flights to the moon.
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4 out of 5 stars
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An Absorbing Slice of Social History
- By S. Perry on 06-01-14
By: Robert Gandt
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The Race Underground
- Boston, New York, and the Incredible Rivalry That Built America's First Subway
- By: Doug Most
- Narrated by: John H. Mayer
- Length: 15 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 155
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 138
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Story4 out of 5 stars 137
In the late nineteenth century, as cities like Boston and New York grew larger, the streets became increasingly clogged with horse-drawn carts. When the great blizzard of 1888 brought New York City to a halt, a solution had to be found. Two brothers - Henry Melville Whitney of Boston and William Collins Whitney of New York City - pursued the dream of his city being the first American metropolis to have a subway and the great race was on.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Informative Cobbled Telling of an Important Story
- By Lynn on 05-21-14
By: Doug Most
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Train
- Riding the Rails That Created the Modern World - from the Trans-Siberian to the Southwest Chief
- By: Tom Zoellner
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 105
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 92
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 94
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.
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4 out of 5 stars
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The world history of trains up to the present
- By matthew on 03-06-14
By: Tom Zoellner
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Strange Stones
- By: Peter Hessler
- Narrated by: George Backman
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 157
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 136
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 139
Full of unforgettable figures and an unrelenting spirit of adventure, Strange Stones is a far-ranging, thought-provoking collection of Peter Hessler’s best reportage - a dazzling display of the powerful storytelling, shrewd cultural insight, and warm sense of humor that are the trademarks of his work. Over the last decade, as a staff writer for The New Yorker and the author of three books, Peter Hessler has lived in Asia and the United States, writing as both native and knowledgeable outsider in these two very different regions.
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4 out of 5 stars
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funny, entertaining
- By Katherine on 08-02-13
By: Peter Hessler
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Freedom's Forge
- How American Business Built the Arsenal of Democracy That Won World War II
- By: Arthur Herman
- Narrated by: John McDonough
- Length: 16 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 714
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 631
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 629
New York Times best-selling author and Pulitzer Prize finalist Arthur Herman pens this fascinating look at how two businessmen turned the U.S. into a military powerhouse during World War II. In 1940, FDR asked General Motors CEO William Knudsen to oversee the production of guns, tanks, and planes needed for the war. Meanwhile, industrialist Henry J. Kaiser presided over the building of “Liberty ships” - vessels that came to symbolize America’s great wartime output.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Enlightening. Amazing, Great Narration
- By G. Sanders on 08-26-12
By: Arthur Herman
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Nothing Like It in the World
- The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869
- By: Stephen E. Ambrose
- Narrated by: Jeffrey DeMunn
- Length: 15 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,104
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 788
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 788
Nothing Like It in the World is the story of the men who built the transcontinental railroad. In Ambrose's hands, this enterprise comes to life. The U.S. government pitted two companies - the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific railroads - against each other in a race for funding, encouraging speed over caution. As its peak the work force approached the size of Civil War armies, with as many as 15,000 workers on each line. The surveyors, the men who picked the route, lived off buffalo, deer, and antelope.
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1 out of 5 stars
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A tragic waste
- By Joshua Tretakoff on 04-11-03
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Higher
- A Historic Race to the Sky and the Making of a City
- By: Neal Bascomb
- Narrated by: Richard M. Davidson
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 140
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 57
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 58
This riveting, true account of the 1929 race to build New York City's tallest skyscraper evokes the glory of an exciting time long past.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding Audio Book!!!
- By Tim on 11-16-05
By: Neal Bascomb
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Country Driving
- A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory
- By: Peter Hessler
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 16 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 565
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 373
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 365
In the summer of 2001, Peter Hessler, the longtime Beijing correspondent for The New Yorker, acquired his Chinese driver's license. For the next seven years, he traveled the country, tracking how the automobile and improved roads were transforming China.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Pass the white rice please
- By Nick on 02-18-10
By: Peter Hessler
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Water to the Angels
- William Mulholland, His Monumental Aqueduct, and the Rise of Los Angeles
- By: Les Standiford
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 196
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 179
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 180
The author of Last Train to Paradise tells the story of the largest public water project ever created - William Mulholland's Los Angeles aqueduct - a story of Gilded Age ambition, hubris, greed, and one determined man whose vision shaped the future and continues to impact us today.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Water challenges never end
- By John Matel on 04-10-15
By: Les Standiford
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Engines of Change
- A History of the American Dream in Fifteen Cars
- By: Paul Ingrassia
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 330
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 285
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 281
America was made manifest by its cars. From the assembly lines of Henry Ford to the open roads of Route 66 and Jack Kerouac, America's history is a vehicular history-an idea brought brilliantly to life in this major work by the acclaimed author of Crash Course: The American Automobile Industry's Road from Glory to Disaster.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Cars, Computers, and "Engines of Change"
- By Joshua Kim on 06-17-12
By: Paul Ingrassia
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Divided Highways
- Building the Interstate Highways, Transforming American Life
- By: Tom Lewis
- Narrated by: Jim D. Johnston
- Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 38
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 34
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
In Divided Highways, Tom Lewis offers an encompassing account of highway development in the United States. In the early twentieth century Congress created the Bureau of Public Roads to improve roads and the lives of rural Americans. The Bureau was the forerunner of the Interstate Highway System of 1956, which promoted a technocratic approach to modern road building sometimes at the expense of individual lives, regional characteristics, and the landscape.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Lots of interesting facts. Poor narration
- By Richard on 06-01-21
By: Tom Lewis
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Appetite for America
- Fred Harvey and the Business of Civilizing the Wild West - One Meal at a Time
- By: Stephen Fried
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 18 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 51
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 41
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 41
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.
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5 out of 5 stars
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I loved listening to this fabulous story!
- By A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. on 01-27-20
By: Stephen Fried
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The Path Between the Seas
- The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914
- By: David McCullough
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 31 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,470
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,171
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,172
The Path Between the Seas tells the story of the men and women who fought against all odds to fulfill the 400-year-old dream of constructing an aquatic passageway between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It is a story of astonishing engineering feats, tremendous medical accomplishments, political power plays, heroic successes, and tragic failures. McCullough expertly weaves the many strands of this momentous event into a captivating tale.
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4 out of 5 stars
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No Stone Unturned
- By Tim on 06-25-13
By: David McCullough
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Fulfillment
- Winning and Losing in One-Click America
- By: Alec MacGillis
- Narrated by: Danny Gavigan
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 205
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 172
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Story4 out of 5 stars 172
Alec MacGillis’ Fulfillment is not another inside account or exposé of our most conspicuously dominant company. Rather, it is a literary investigation of the America that falls within that company’s growing shadow. As MacGillis shows, Amazon’s sprawling network of delivery hubs, data centers, and corporate campuses epitomizes a land where winner and loser cities and regions are drifting steadily apart, the civic fabric is unraveling, and work has become increasingly rudimentary and isolated.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Missing some important angles
- By D. Zimmerle on 08-19-21
By: Alec MacGillis
What listeners say about Last Train to Texas
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Daniel T.
- 04-08-23
A master iconoclast
Hard to meet anyone familiar with railroading in the last 40 years that hasn’t read Mr Frailey’s work. Candidly it strikes me he replaced my favorite “TRAIN’S columnist, so it took me a few years to get over my contempt. In true rail fashion, that was 10 years. My loss.
This work is a wonderful compendium of some of his favorite stories. The ones I already new had new life breathed in them Mr Thompson’s performance.
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