In 1895 a different kind of railroad car rolled into Texas, bringing the
"good news" of the evangelical Gospel to transient railroad workers
and far-flung communities alike.

    A ministry to railroad men and their families lay at the heart of
chapel car work, which over a period of fifty years saw thirteen rail
chapel cars minister to thousands of towns, mainly west of the
Mississippi. Author Wilma Rugh Taylor's portrayal of this ministry for
the one car, Good Will, which served Texas, provides a view of life in 
towns such as Denison, Texline, Marshall, San Antonio, Laredo, 
Abilene, and Dalhart. The railroads that carried the Texas chapel car 
included the Texas & Pacific; the Missouri, Kansas & Topeka; the 
Southern Pacific; the International & Great Northern; and the 
Mexican International.

    Taylor writes about the travels of Good Will with fondness and an 
eye for detail. She describes the car itself (its living area was just 
nine by eighteen feet with a decorative rococo stencil on the ceiling), 
the missionary couples who traveled in it, and the services they 
held. She considers the philanthropists who supported the mobile 
chapel and the guilt and other motives that moved them. She looks 
at the issues the chapel car faced as it rolled into town: temperance, 
turbulent religious rivalries, racism and immigration, the role of 
Masons and other lodges in rural society, and even the devastating 
Great Storm of 1900 in Galveston.

    A novel window into Texas and railroad history, this book tells a 
warmly human story set on a larger stage of charitable works, 
evangelical fervor, and social change.

_________________________________________________________

WILMA RUGH TAYLOR, an author, historian, and former journalism 
teacher, is an active member of the American Baptist Historical 
Society and National Railroad Historical Association. With her 
husband, she is the co-author of a previous book on chapel cars, 
This Train Is Bound for Glory: The Story of America's Chapel Cars. 
Their research encouraged the restoration of chapel car Grace, which 
is currently in progress at the Green Lake Conference Center, Green 
Lake, Wisconsin.


Number Nine: Sam Rayburn Series on Rural Life, sponsored by Texas 
A&M University–Commerce


What people are saying about this book

". . .engaging and interesting. . . . provides an intimate look at a lifestyle/
belief system about which little has been written. Gospel Tracks through 
Texas has been carefully researched, and written with much evident 
compassion."—Richard Francaviglia, University of Texas at Arlington

". . . an exceptionally well-crafted examination of the nearly forgotten 
railroad chapel car phenomenon. This study of the chapel car Good Will 
is wonderful church history, railroad history, social history, and Texas 
history."—H. Roger Grant, Centennial Professor of History, Clemson 
University

". . . a fine work of social, cultural and religious history. Taylor's style is 
almost cinematographic . . . It's a powerful narrative and great fun to 
read."—Paul C. Stone, University of Minnesota

". . . a fascinating read of innovative mission efforts in post–Civil War 
Texas . . . a satisfying account for those interested in home mission."
—A. Roy Medley, General Secretary, American Baptist Churches in the 
U.S.A.