Richard LittIngston is driving west for a funeral when a detour leads him to a forgotten railroad museum and a ticket dated August 8, 1885. What begins as a moment of curiosity becomes an impossible journey as Richard boards a train bound not just across the American West, but across time.
Carried into the age of steam, he finds himself among the men who built the rail lines-engineers, firemen, and switchmen whose lives were shaped by iron, fire, and choice. Traveling mile by mile through depots, junctions, and open prairie, Richard forms an unexpected bond with a young engineer whose name he recognizes in ways he cannot yet explain. As history tightens around a single pivotal day, Richard must decide whether the past is something to observe…or something that can still be altered.
Blending historically grounded detail with subtle time-slip elements, Ticket to 1885 is a literary historical novella about legacy, memory, and the quiet weight of responsibility passed between generations. Rather than focusing on spectacle or paradox, the story emphasizes human connection and the moments where ordinary decisions leave lasting marks.
Set against the grit and beauty of nineteenth-century railroads, the book explores how history is carried not only in records and photographs, but in the choices people make when no one is watching. Some journeys are not about changing the past, but about understanding the line that leads us home.
