We’ve become a race of engineers. What we never seem to understand is that after it’s time to railroad, there’s time to build a beautiful railroad. The state of the art has advanced enough; we can afford to pay a small penalty in efficiency.

Time, along with work, is a major theme in the building of the railroad. Before the locomotive, time hardly mattered. With the coming of the railroad, time became so important that popular phrases included “Time was,” or “Time is wasting,” or “Time’s up,” or “The train is leaving the station.” What is called “standard time” came about because of the railroads. Before that, localities set their own time. Because the railroads published schedules, the country was divided into four time zones.

...the true route for a successful railroad.

Sincerity itself is the railroad track.

"An iron railroad would be a cheaper thing than a road of the common construction." Here lay in a few words the idea from which our railway system has sprung.

Running your own race is doing the best you can every chance you get with what you have for a purpose that outlives you.

Thus would I double my life's fading space;
For he that runs it well, runs twice his race.

“The best strategies run on rails like that.” Miles pointed out. “Live or die, you make your goal.”

It will be recalled by those who have not allowed their view of modern history to become too hazy, that the close of the twentieth century saw a dream of the engineering world at last realized—the completion of the long-heralded undersea railroad. It will also be recalled that the engineers in charge of this stupendous undertaking were greatly encouraged by the signal success of the first tube under the English Channel, joining England and France by rail.

There is no way to measure or accurately compare, but it can be asserted that no men ever worked harder under more dangerous conditions than those who built the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific [railroads].

We are on a runaway train headed over the climate cliff as we stoke the engine with more coal to increase its speed.

[In] the first efforts of Fred Barwell and myself to try out the feasibility of linear motor drives for railways... we built an 80-foot track in the laboratories of Manchester University... Having put a seat on this vehicle and given rides to daily newspaper reporters (acceleration 0.5 g), we had all the publicity we needed...

Life is a Sisyphean race, run ever faster toward a finish line that is merely the start of the next race

I have done my part on the track and now it is only right to try out a new challenge and the marathon discipline is inspiring enough.