Re: The Saga of Burning Switch

Eddie Sands,Frog Smith,&Haywire Mac McClintock-Lew&Gilbert Lathrop,Charley Squires.I grew up reading stuff by or about these guys. John Norwood,too.

Heres where I'm coming from in regards to the story:
1. WHERE ARE THE HELPER ENGINES -You have a single engine pulling beaucoup LOADED cars up a 4% grade in snow(remember these locos are about the size of a C-19)-then you pull an engine off another train leaving it stranded,just to help the stalled train to the top of the pass-seems like youre 2 engines short.
2.COUPLING BEHIND THE CABOOSE -Most trains in those days had to couple the helper behind the rear loaded car because the cabooses were too flimsy to stand the strain of being pushed.
3.GEOGRAPHY-The authors seem to be making up the local geography of the line as they go along.
4.A HELLACIOUS TRESTLE FIRE IN THE MIDDLE OF A BLINDING SNOW STORM-started by hobos who should have been put up for the night at one of those boxcar depots(maybe they started the Lobato fire)
5.DO THE MATH-The German(who talks like something out of the Katzenjammer Kids) said he'd been working on the line over 25 years.Figuring the story is set in 1893 the line would have been built during the Civil War.

The basic idea of a ghost train coming to get the sole survivor of an old wreck is GOOD!You don't need a sequel, you need a complete re-write leaving out all the hokey stuff.Maybe the second version will be so good that you could win a Pulitzer Prize.Good luck and happy writing!!