An East Coast commuter train leaves a station and the big city behind. In a small town it slows and a big blue passenger train roars by. Eventually the passenger train pulls into the station of a Midwestern city. In the nearby rail yard, a freight train is being loaded and then heads out. It rolls across the Great Plains. In the low hills of the mountains, an overnight passenger train goes by. It curves along high narrow passes and eventually speeds across a wide-open landscape in the night. In the morning, there is breakfast for passengers as a high-speed train comes into view. This train races toward the coast, coming into a modern city station. "And with a slowing turn into the station and an easing of speed and a sigh of breaks and a gentle last thunk, the train stops." A picture book journey by trains moves across the U.S. landscape from East to West Coast. Authentic rather than nostalgic (with occasional artistic license described in the author's note), the narrative and delicate, detailed watercolor illustrations capture speed and grace and grit (depending on the type of train). Sweeping exterior scenes as well as captivating train interiors give a sense of the train experience as both participant and observer. (Ages 4-7)

A night train, a freight train, a high-speed train. Racing across the country, from coast to coast. All aboard!Climb aboard a red-striped Commuter Train in the East. Switch to a blue Passenger Train rolling through midwestern farmland. Then hop on a Freight Train, soar over mountains on an Overnight Train, and finish on a High-Speed Train as it races to the West Coast.Trains are moving. Fast and loud, colorful and powerful. Experience their sights, sounds, smells--and the engineers and conductors who make them go--as they roll across the country.