On the whole, Gateway Western Railroad’s outlook is grim. Our revenue for the year 1855 was just $145,000, leaving us with a mere profit of $43,000 after deducting expenses as well as interest paid on the $500,000 bond issued in 1854. The company’s stock currently sells for $18 per share, down from the $23 it fetched just one year ago. Our investors are unhappy with the company’s performance; some have even suggested that you resign. I hope, however, that my advice, gleaned from a reputable source, will lead to a more profitable 1856.

Riding the Rails. A locomotive chugs its way toward town.

“It seems as if the earth had got a race now worthy to inhabit it.”

- Henry Thoreau

A Worthy Race

I recently met with a Mr. Phil Steinmeyer, who is in charge of a curiously named company: PopTop Software. I believe this “software” to be paper goods, but he was evasive; this “poptop” leaves me unfortunately befuddled, and he provided no insight. He did, however, tell me that he likes the latter half of our 19th century, expressing the view that “locomotives from that era look the coolest.” Judging by his peculiar dialect, I believe he may hail from a town near St. Louis.

I showed him the leather-bound ledger where I keep all our financials — handwritten in a clear yet elegant script, of course — and he perused it for a long while. Finally he looked up and said: “I like to build industry chains.” This caught my ear as surely as my mother’s firm fingers did when I was six and she caught me stealing a pie off a neighbor’s windowsill.

Next Stop. A train pulls into the station. Make sure diners and hotels are as close to a station as possible to pull in maximum revenue.

Our industry is a fledgling one, sir, but Mr. Steinmeyer then pressed upon me a new understanding of what Henry Thoreau meant when he wrote of trains: “It seems as if the earth had got a race now worthy to inhabit it.” This is an industry that will surely shape the future of the 31 states in our Union; the recent successful coast-to-coast run of the Panama Railway attests to that.

Mr. Steinmeyer continued: “Connect a few major cities, preferably with at least one in an area with a lot of resources. Then buy up the resources closest to your tracks, build a factory to convert the resources to finished goods and watch the money roll in from multiple sources, including the original farm or mine, the factory that creates finished goods and the haulage fees you pick up along the way.”

A Feeling of Power

I implore you to heed Mr. Steinmeyer’s advice. We must look beyond such routes as Amarillo-to-Lubbock and extend our reach into the larger metropolitan areas or I fear our esteemed competitors will succeed in that endeavor. I strongly recommend that in the short term we invest some of our profits in the buyback of stock, which will drive up its price and make our investors happy. Then we must purchase businesses, such as restaurants and hotels, near the stations that our trains service.

Progress Report. Each January, you can review in-depth details of the previous year’s financial results.

I also recommend that you reconsider the local farmers’ offer to pay us a $150,000 annual bonus for hauling five loads of produce per year. This is much-needed income that we can use to expand Gateway Western Railroad; in support of this, I point you to another of Mr. Steinmeyer’s observations: “There’s a feeling of power in building a massive empire.” In fact, I dare say that my conversation with the gentleman has even left me with the desire to throw caution to the wind and purchase stocks on margin as we drive to become the dominant railroad of the West.

Connecting the West. Step back in time to the early days of trains and build tracks across the country.

“There’s a feeling of power in building a massive empire.”

- Phil Steinmeyer, PopTop Software

I anxiously await your response to my report. I sincerely believe that if we implement my recommendations, history will view Gateway Western Railroad as one of the pioneers of this industry.

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