Event—Adult Education

The Railroad in Popular Fiction

Register

Explore the enduring romance and adventure of depictions of the railroad and railroad culture in popular American fiction.

The Railroad Man’s Magazine, November 1910. Source: The Pulp Magazines Project.

Class Description

Explore the enduring romance and adventure of depictions of the railroad and railroad culture in popular American fiction. Focusing on the early to mid-twentieth century, we will discuss both novels with the railroad as settings and industry-specific stories of railroad pulp magazines, highlighting prominent rail stories, writers, anthologies, genre bibliographers, and adaptations to film. A selection of sample readings will be provided in advance. 

Chad Beharriell has a graduate degree in Interdisciplinary Humanities and almost two decades of instructor experience at the university and community college level. His research interests include the North American West and railroad history.

Materials List

Required

  • Instructor-Distributed Materials

First Reading

  • For the first session, please read the Instructor-provided (PDF) short story, "Mabel On a Mountain" (Railroad Man’s Magazine, December 1909).

Cost and Registration

3 sessions, $147 ($132 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.

To register multiple people for this class, please go through the course calendar in Learning Stream, our registration platform. When you select the course and register, you’ll be prompted to add another registrant.

Register

Support the Newberry

Your generosity is vital in keeping the library’s programs, exhibitions, and reading rooms free and accessible to everyone.

Make a Gift

Questions?

Call us at (312) 255-3700 or send us an email at adulteducation@newberry.org.

Email Us