In an opinion piece this week in the Austin American-Statesman, Edward Segal, the nation's top expert on the history of campiagn trains, shares the five lessons that today's political candidates can learn from the hundreds of politicians who campaigned from the back of trains for more than 185 years.

Read the article at this link: https://www.statesman.com/story/opinion/columns/your-voice/2024/01/24/commentary-campaign-trains-and-their-legacy-of-political-theater/72273693007/

"The interest and enthusiasm that were created by trackside rallies and speeches of presidential and other candidates would be the envy of politicians today," Segal writes in the article.

"Front page newspaper stories would herald the scheduled arrival of the trains. Schools and businesses would often close in anticipation of when the train of a whistle-stopping politician would pull into the local railroad station. The population of entire communities would show up, blocking streets and surrounding the railroad depot. These were once-in-a-lifetime events for residents of small-town America—a bit of 'I remember when' history to pass on to their children and grandchildren," he noted.



Segal is the author of the forthcoming book, Whistle-Stop Politics: Campaign Trains and the Reporters Who Covered Them.  It is the first book to take a deep dive into the history and impact of campiagn trains on politics, elections, journalism, and culture. Learn more about the book at WhistleStopPolitics.com.