Release Date: June 1, 2026
Thank you for visiting the free, online version of the “What Ben Didn’t Know…” series. I hope you enjoy “An Old Train,” a fictional account of one man’s journey to get the perfect image of the Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 steam engine.
The free versions of the “What Ben Didn’t Know…” series are released a few weeks after the official releases for e-readers and in print.
I’m happy to offer the free version for those who want to just check out the stories. I would ask that if you enjoy the story, please share with your friends. Your support, whether in purchasing or just reading, means the world to me.
Thanks!
Andy
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For my dad, who set up a train around our Christmas Tree.
The Big News
“Oh, that looks so cool,” exclaimed Ben.
“What?” asked Amy as they sat on the couch, with the TV on, but both of them engrossed in viewing the things on their laptop screens.
“There is this old train coming through town in a couple of months. It’s one of those old, steam engines, you know, like you would have under your tree at Christmas,” said Ben excitedly.
“We didn’t have a train,” commented Amy.
“Oh, yeah, I’m sorry you were deprived of one of the true joys of Christmas,” Ben said with a sense of pride in his family. “We always had a train. Dad would pull out the piece of plywood from the garage, and we would use thumbtacks to hold the train tracks down. Our dog, B.T., would always chase it around the tracks and knock it over.”
“I know,” said Amy in a voice of having heard this story every Christmas.
“Remember that picture of the train village I made before we met?” commented Ben.
“Yes, Ben, maybe you should build one in our living room,” commented Amy in a voice that suggested she knew exactly what was coming next.
“Yeah, I would, but you know Maddie would be freaked out by it. Why can’t our dog like things that are fun? Anyway, that old train would be cool to see. I wonder what day it’s coming through town? I’ll bet I’m working,” Ben mentioned, directing his comment towards Amy, as if she were involved in Ben’s internet scrolling.
Ben started trying to analyze the train schedule, and he saw the word, “Monday.”
“Crap, of course it’s going to be on a Monday. Don’t these people know that everyone works?” Ben said with a sense of loss.
“Why don’t you just take the day off?” Amy asked, half trying to take part in Ben’s discussion.
Ben thought out loud, “I suppose I could see what time it’s coming through. Maybe I’ll make it a half day. Or maybe it will be somewhere else that we can drive to over the weekend.”
Amy had a feeling that for the next few months all she was going to hear about was this train – whether or not Ben would take off work, if something might come up at work to get in the way of Ben’s seeing the train, and, about a week before the train arrived, daily weather updates with the chances of rain on the day the train would come through.
She went back to looking at her laptop while Ben started to go down a rabbit hole of old, steam engines.