Please help me welcome one of my SWEETWATER SPRINGS CHRISTMAS co-authors Linda McLaughlin to my blog today. Our book SWEETWATER SPRINGS CHRISTMAS will be release on November 18th.

When I conceived the idea for The Best Present, my story in the Sweetwater Springs Christmas: A Montana Sky Short Story Anthology, I knew my story would start on a train. My character, ten-year-old Allison Harcourt, is in transit from Pittsburgh to Spokane with her parents. She doesn’t know they will soon take a side trip to Sweetwater Springs.

RESEARCH IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE PARTS OF THE WRITING PROCESS. (I’M NOT A LIBRARIAN FOR NOTHING!) SO I SET OUT TO LEARN ABOUT TRAIN TRAVEL IN THE 1890’S. SOME OF THE THINGS I LEARNED ARE:

By the time our stories take place, in 1895, the transcontinental railroad was a fait accompli. Montana had the distinction of have two railways traversing the state from east to west. The newest, the Great Northern Rail Road, traversed the northern part of the state, at times close the the Canadian border. Farther south, the Northern Pacific Railway (later the Burlington Northern) was the gateway to Yellowstone.

WE HAVE THE TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD TO THANK FOR OUR PRESENT SYSTEM OF TIME ZONES. PRIOR TO 1883, ALL TIME WAS LOCAL, BASED ON THE POSITION OF THE SUN. HOWEVER, THAT MADE IT DIFFICULT TO RUN AN EFFICIENT RAILROAD. IN 1883 CONGRESS PASSED A LAW SETTING UP THE STANDARD TIME ZONES, ALLOWING THE RAILROADS TO SYNCHRONIZE TIME KEEPING THROUGHOUT THEIR ROUTES. EACH DEPOT HAD A CLOCK, AND EVERY CONDUCTOR HAD A RAILROAD WATCH, OPEN FACE WITH LARGE BLACK NUMERALS SO IT COULD BE SEEN EASILY, EVEN IN DIM LIGHT. RAILROADS PUBLISHED DETAILED SCHEDULES, AND BY GOLLY, THE TRAINS RAN ON TIME!

As an aside, I’d always wondered why some time zones were so wide and others so narrow, but when I realized it was done to accommodate the railroads, I understood why. The Central time zone is so wide because trains traveled quickly over the plains. Climbing over the Rockies and other western mountain ranges took longer, which explains why the Mountain and Pacific time zones are relatively narrow.

SOME OTHER BITS OF RAILROAD TRIVIA:

Railroads published travel brochures to attract tourists to visit scenic areas along their routes. For instance, the Northern Pacific advertised “The Wonderland Route to the Pacific Coast” to lure Eastern tourists to Yellowstone National Park. They also had their own playing cards to keep passengers amused.

FIRST CLASS CARS HAD PULLMAN COMPARTMENTS AND DINING CARS. IT WAS THE LUXURY TRAVEL OF THE DAY.

My characters travel in coach, or second class. Coach passengers packed own lunches or stopped at depot restaurants for the “20-minute gulp stop”. Passengers paid first and may or may not have finished eating before time to get back on train. Someone in the party had to keep an eye on the conductor “who, watch in hand, paced impatiently up and down the depot platform.”*

* THE COLLECTORS BOOK OF RAILROADIANA BY STANLEY L. BAKER & VIRGINIA BRAINARD KUNZ

No wonder my characters are glad to get off the train for a night, even if it means staying with the Widow Murphy, one of the most cantankerous residents of Sweetwater Springs.

THE BEST PRESENT
by Linda McLaughlin

Ten-year-old Allison Harcourt’s life has been turned upside down since her father lost his job and her beloved grandmother died. She’s not looking forward to Christmas, especially since she can’t figure out how to finish the scarf she’s making for her mother. An unexpected stop in Sweetwater Springs brings her and her parents to the boarding house of the widow Murphy. Sometimes sweet things can be found in the most unexpected places.

SWEETWATER SPRINGS CHRISTMAS: A MONTANA SKY SHORT STORY ANTHOLOGY BY DEBRA HOLLAND AND FRIENDS WILL BE RELEASED NOVEMBER 18 AT AMAZON, BUT IS AVAILABLE NOW FOR PRE-ORDER AT HTTP://AMZN.COM/B00G06W3SA>