Write a short story that takes place on a train.

Posted in High School on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 128 stories

“Dynamic Cardiologic Integer Reversal” by Devon Flynn

Submitted to Contest #27

Lakes. Rivers and streams. Forested mountains. There was always something in the passing landscape that would normally capture the eye of passengers, but they passed by in seconds, always missing the gaze of the young man in the last train car. Instead of the geographical features on the other side of the window, he was more drawn to what was in front of him. Inside of his heavily worn jean-style backpack that sat atop the floral patterned matte-blue seats were several books. Hardcover books, text books, all thi...

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““That” Train Ride” by Wesley Tinney

Submitted to Contest #27

The morning sun was warming the platform where Steve stood. On the wall behind him the name of the station was positively glowing. Black letters on a white background. A name that contained all of the special characters used by the local language which rendered it comprehensively unpronounceable. Lucky for Steve he did not have to pronounce it, he merely lived nearby and this was the train station he used. The trains thankfully had numbers of which he could read. And when his number train came along, he boarded it.&...

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“In Absentia” by Ann Marie Anglin

Submitted to Contest #27

In Absentiaby Ann Marie Anglin The first week I started my new job, my car developed a problem with its electrical system, forcing me to take the train to work. This automotive emergency put me in the right place at the right time for what would be one of the most telling events in my life. I’d tentatively accepted the recent promotion, but I had been having serious doubts that I possessed the assertiveness needed to succeed at my new job. From an intellectual/academic standpoint, I had more than enough experience and ...

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“The long way home” by Teresa Glowaski

Submitted to Contest #27

James had been walking for days. He was promised Land. His wife and daughter were on the wagon trail...The air was dry and dust was the prominent color of almost everything. With every step he wonders if he made the right decision.. A lot of folks was interested in obtaining land but the West was clear on the other side..It could easily take months on foot.. Some of the land had been given away if folks would just take care of the land and make it a homestead. Billy had been on horseback for days..His horse was worn and needed shoes b...

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“The Capture of Wily Jackson” by Mary T. Kowalinski

Submitted to Contest #27

“What’s wrong with me?” Sarah inwardly moaned. She bit her lip trying to hold back the tears. She had been doing so much crying recently she was really getting sick of it. She turned to look out the window of the train so no one would see when the tears came. Why couldn’t she just get over this she wondered as she gazed out the window at the endless prairie. She listened as the train whistle was given a loud, long blast. Well, here she was on this train heading for home. It was over and done with and there was nothing she could do about it a...

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“LILLY'S TRAIN RIDE” by Bobbie Wigginton

Submitted to Contest #27

LILLY’S TRAIN RIDE by Bobbie WiggintonLilly woke up before sunrise in order to beat the rush to the eating car, she jumped up and thought to herself, this wasn’t a bad idea for a trip on a train. Nothing she had expected, but a nice quiet ride along the beautiful countryside. Places you couldn’t or wouldn’t see in an ordinary day or unless you lived in the areas. She made her way to the dining car, not being particularly hungry. She ordered a cup of coffee and buttered toast to help squelch any possible rumblings in her tummy. After breakfas...

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“Train to Bibury” by Jessica Eberle

Submitted to Contest #27

Here we have a man, sitting alone at a small table, steam still rising from his porcelain cup. A silent piano is being played on his leg that nobody can hear but him. He is dressed in clothing that any wealthy gentleman would wear in public if he wanted to impress. His grey suit fits perfectly on his frame, black shoes polished, and a watch that glimmered under the lights. Michael gazes out the window as golden leaves glitter in the sun after the rainy night. Raising the cup to his lips, he sips some coffee as a satisfied...

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“Where Warriors Roam” by Lee Jackson

Submitted to Contest #27

I leap over the fallen log. It acts as the final hurdle. I know now that I can make it safely. There will be no stopping me from here. There never has been. I can hear them pounding and crashing through the foliage behind me, and behind me is where they are going to stay. I’m not quite sure who it is this time.I had just been skimming stones across the lake, the edge of the forest sitting away to my left. I had been enjoying the cool evening breeze, watching the sinking sun paint a pink hue across the sky and watching its reflection dan...

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“Novel Transit” by Meryl Sigaton

Submitted to Contest #27

Synchronized whirring and creaking of the metal and the gears in the shafts and motor down below, steam slowly fading past my window. The train was at constant speed blazing through the plush countryside, just a little past the city. “Ah, seconds and seconds more… the closer I am to my dear Rosalie. And yet time is merely a concept of the mind”, I muttered as I looked out the glass. “Why not some crisp morning air…” I said to myself, enticed by the tall green grass and fresh cerulean skies. A cool gentle breeze calms my senses and I catch a ...

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“The Train Journey” by Sudha Viswanath

Submitted to Contest #27

The Train Journey My long cherished dream of visiting India, was to be realized now. My book, ‘The Mental Trauma,’ had been selected as the best among f...

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“The Quartet” by Claire Lemieux

Submitted to Contest #27

Your day has been going poorly from the time you woke up. Or rather, didn’t wake up. You managed to somehow turn off your alarm in the night, and what finally awakened you, almost half an hour late, was your mom pounding on the door that divides your “apartment” (really just an end of a hallway with a bedroom and a bathroom - all other amenities are shared) from the rest of your parents’ suburban home. You chalk up the almost too-late wake-up call to being one of the benefits of having been forced to move home after a sticky divorce in your ...

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“New Jersey Transit (A “24” Spoof)” by Trish Tyler

Submitted to Contest #27

Henry, a preschooler and Director of Field Ops races against the clock to save his country from ultimate disaster and make it home in time for snack. He breaks the 4th wall often to speak to the audience. The author, an only child just like Henry, can confirm this is apparently a thing. 12:00 Henry looks out the dirty window of the train car and begins to speak in the style of Kiefer Sutherland. However, he has no idea who that is. We’ve been on… he pauses to sound out the sign in front of him … New Jersey Transit … he co...

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“Objectively” by Rachael Brady

Submitted to Contest #27

The commute felt standard, stagnant. Another shift of setting hot chocolate on the tables of the foreigners, to ask them if they would like their coffee with milk and sugar, to offer them sweets, and to answer their every question about their destination. The train attendant, a small, thin figure with long dark hair and skin a shade lighter walked quickly through the aisle of the train, headed towards the back, where a small girl stood. The girl to no surprise, held out her pho...

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“Ghost Train ” by June Driver

Submitted to Contest #27

Nobody really ever passes through there. No reason to. I'm not sure if anyone even lives in that town. There's a gas station, though, at the corner of the main innersection. And I've been told that sometimes there's a feller workin inside. But I never seen him. The county or some such went and put up bunch of speed bumps on the main road goin through. No reason to. No one ever really passed through. And then after they did that, I heard stories o' young punks who knew where the place was playin games of tryin to speed through, over the bumps...

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“The Criminal Inside” by Melissa M.

Submitted to Contest #27

The whistle of the train pierced Jacob's ear and steam swirled about him as he pulled himself aboard. The Madeira-Mamoré Railroad was small and inelegant, but an achievement costing many lives to build and earning it the nickname “The Devil's Railroad.” The passing scenery included the Madiera and the Mamoré rivers and several smaller tributaries. Jacob took a seat by a dark-skinned man wearing a turban.~~~ "You sat on my hand!" "I did not!" "Did too--see the mark from your button?" There was no doubting the way this trip would go. "Children...

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Write a short story that takes place on a train.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 128 stories

“Dynamic Cardiologic Integer Reversal” by Devon Flynn

““That” Train Ride” by Wesley Tinney

“In Absentia” by Ann Marie Anglin

“The long way home” by Teresa Glowaski

“The Capture of Wily Jackson” by Mary T. Kowalinski

“LILLY'S TRAIN RIDE” by Bobbie Wigginton

“Train to Bibury” by Jessica Eberle

“Where Warriors Roam” by Lee Jackson

“Novel Transit” by Meryl Sigaton

“The Train Journey” by Sudha Viswanath

“The Quartet” by Claire Lemieux

“New Jersey Transit (A “24” Spoof)” by Trish Tyler

“Objectively” by Rachael Brady

“Ghost Train ” by June Driver

“The Criminal Inside” by Melissa M.

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a short story about a jury of people tasked with making a decision. (It doesn't necessarily need to be a court jury.)

Write a short story in which a specialist is called upon to carry out a job.

Write a short story that ends with a twist.

Write a short story that takes place in a quaint, idyllic, English village.

Contest #27

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

378

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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