This historical-fiction book on the post-Civil War era construction of the Virginia Ralroad begins in 1933 at the Civil War Reunion of veterans from the Union Army and the Army Of The Confederacy on the Gettysburg Battlefield and flashes back to the post-war period. The author was a freshman at Gettysburg College at the time and relates how two 96-year veterans got into a heated argument and ended up shooting and killing each other. This is first of a number of turnng fact into fiction; in fact, only one of the men died; the other recovered.

The President of the Virginia Railroad was General Robert E. Lee, President of Washington University (now Washington & Lee University), at Lexington, Virginia, and it was planned to run from Harrisonburg to Salem, Virginia. It was a railroad upon which no train ever ran! The roadbed still exists and many of the bridges, culverts, and other stone remanents can still be seen from Interstate Highway I-81 by motorists traveling through the Shenandoah Valley, and others can be seen by short walks off the interstate.

"The Train That Never Ran" will be of considerable interest to Railroading Enthusiasts and Civili War Buffs, and should be offered in Railroad Museums, Civil War Bookstores in Virginia and nationwide, as well as in Railroading and Civil War magazines.

Unfortunately, the publisher failed to include maps of the Virginia Railroad with specific locations of the remaining remenants, nor even one of the dozens of color photos readily available from the author and his photographer friend -- Wayn Newcomb -- who spent so much time locating and capturing them on film. Hopefully, a revised edition will be printed correcting these major oversights.

I was one of the best historical books that I have ever read. Bowers' points are interesting and insightful. I wish he had written more historical books.