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“An impressive feat of historical research that illuminates the life of an unjustly neglected historical figure.” —Kirkus Reviews

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“Brings to life the compelling story of the man who brought McKay to Boston... Miles has done a fine job of restoring Enoch Train's place in American history in a book well researched and a story well told.”
Sea History magazine, National Maritime Historical Society

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“[An] engaging account of Enoch Train's critical role in the growth of American packet and clipper ship lines at the height of the great age of sail”  — Eric Jay Dolin, author of Rebels at Sea: Privateering in the American Revolution.

 

“Runs smoothly and expertly on the same rails as the works of the foundational American maritime historians, such as Robert G. Albion and Samuel Eliot Morison.” —Richard J. King, Sea Education Association.

 

"An enjoyable read with many historical anecdotes.” — Anthony M. Sammarco, author of  Inferno: The Great Boston fire of 1872.

Enoch Train rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most important maritime figures in nineteenth-century Boston: owner of the city’s most successful transatlantic shipping line, and chief patron of its legendary shipbuilder, Donald McKay. In telling Enoch’s story, Transatlantic Train also provides fascinating insights into many of the era’s defining themes and events: The fierce rivalries between the United States and Britain, New York and Boston, sail and steam. The catastrophic Great Famine in Ireland. The California Gold Rush. The fabled clipper ships. The rising tensions between North and South over slavery. And the perils of sailing the stormy Atlantic. Weaving these subjects seamlessly into an absorbing narrative, Transatlantic Train becomes much more than the remarkable tale of a poor orphan from a country village who somehow rose to the top of Boston’s maritime community. It also serves as a guide to many of the currents and crosswinds that set Boston and the United States on course to become the city and nation they are today.

4. Joshua Bates edited for website.jpg

The Joshua Bates, the first of many ships commissioned by Enoch Train from Donald McKay

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