Seldom Willing
A NOVEL OF RAILROADING BY FRED FRAILEY
A Novel by
Fred frailey
A tale so real, so vivid that you’ll forget it NEVER HAPPENED!
From writer Fred Frailey comes a novel about railroading in the 1970s, when many railroads struggled to stay alive (and a few did not). In this turbulent time, anything could happen.
It's 1978, and Sam Spearman—wealthy, elderly, irascible — is a man on a mission. The mighty Central Pacific Railroad proposes to abandon tracks that serve his Kansas grain elevators. Caught in the middle is Chet Whitfield, who runs CP's Kansas Division. When Sam forces Central Pacific to sell him the Kansas City-to-Denver route, Chet chooses sides and becomes president of the new railroad, nicknamed the Seldom Willing.
Together the two men, aided by a young woman believed by all to be Sam's rob-the-cradle girlfriend, set out to make a success of their new railroad. They must overcome unhappy former employees, criminals and even Central Pacific itself. You'll discover that railroading then, whether viewed from locomotive cabs or corporate boardrooms, was never dull.
"From villainous executives and corporate intrigue to operational hijinks and the dedicated people who keep trains moving, Fred captures the essence of a fascinating industry. You've got a page-turner of a book."
— Bill Stephens, Trains Magazine columnist
"Fred's storytelling abilities rival those of greats Jimmy Breslin and Pete Hamill. Plus, his knowledge of railroading is encyclopedic. Put them together, and look out."
— Frank Wilner, Railway Age contributing editor
"Seldom Willing is a must read for everyone who wants to learn more about what makes America's railroads run, while at the same time enjoying the lively, twisting plot. All aboard!"
— Robert Krebs, first CEO of BNSF Railway
"Fred emerges as a polished writer of railroad fiction in this masterful account of challenges facing railroads in the 1970s. I hope this won't be the end of his fiction output."
— Tom Hoback, founder of Indiana Rail Road
About Fred
Fred W. Frailey is a lifelong newspaper and magazine writer and editor for such publications as the Chicago Sun-Times, U.S.News & World Report and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. For 40 years, he was also a constant contributor to Trains magazine, writing scores of feature articles and hundreds of opinion columns and blogs. Seldom Willing is his eighth railroad book and his first work of fiction. He lives with his wife Catherine in the Colorado Rockies and is at work on his second novel—about trains, of course.
