If you want some very interesting reading that is NOT fiction (but reads like it), then consider the book by Gilbert Lathrop called "Little Engines and Big Men". It's about Gilbert's uncles, Lewis and Carl, and their adventures during the years (and later) of the building of the Denver & Rio Grande narrow gauge lines in Colorado. Amazing life history of recollections. Carl, the younger brother, became a boomer, and even spent years on the Florence & Cripple Creek RR and the Colorado Midland RR. Lew began his railroad career in 1882 on the narrow gauge in Colorado, so you can imagine the railroading they faced.
Excellent book, AND... it was the real deal and not just good fiction.
Something else to think about.
