The Rail Warriors

THE DERBY MAN #9

By Gary McCarthy

Bantam Books, January 1983

The Derby Man, the West’s hardest-hitting, toughest-fighting, fastest-thinking hero, now charges into what threatens to be his most unbeatable challenge: helping the Union Pacific win the great railroad race across the continent. With time running out, the Derby Man must overcome ferocious Sioux and Cheyenne, brutal weather and terrain, the treacherous Missouri River and the toughest collection of men ever assembled to lay track. Then he must face the most dreaded danger of all – sabotage.

As with any fictional story woven into historical events then a number of real people and situations will make an appearance and this quick moving tale contains a fair few of both, such as Thomas Durant and a disastrous attempt by the Cheyenne to halt a train by stretching a rope across the tracks. Gary McCarthy blends reality and fiction seamlessly in this gripping read.

The Derby Man is soon up to his neck in trouble and fighting the Cheyenne is only one of his problems. He also has to deal with a woman, Miranda, who vows to marry him, even though she knows Darby is due to marry his long-time girlfriend, Dolly Beavers, at completion of the railroad. Miranda is a beautiful lady and many men become besotted with her and jealousy rises its ugly head and strikes out at Darby, both face-on or through treacherous deception. 

Then there’s a man, Laramie, whose obsession for revenge could see the destruction of the railroad and the deaths of those building it. Darby finds himself fighting alongside this man without realizing what a threat to everyone he really is. 

As the race to finish the railroad speeds up then so does the story and you’ll soon be wondering how Darby can possibly survive and escape the attentions of Miranda. Gary McCarthy adds a few twists to the tale that offer surprising solutions to some of these problems, those that a sledgehammer punch from Darby or a bullet don’t solve with a deadly finality. 

Even though this story does end with the meeting of the railroads at Promontory Summit, McCarthy dangles a huge plot carrot to ensure readers will search out the next book in the series. Unfortunately for those reading this excellent series when the books were first published there would be a ten-year gap before the next book appeared, how frustrating would that have been? I’m certain I won’t be waiting that long to find out what happens next.