I don't have the reach that a lot of YouTubers do, but I've got some railfans in my readership and probably some people who live in Tennessee . . .

Hobo Shoestring was an inspiration for Destination Unknown, and he's gone missing. Southern RailFan is leading a search effort at a lake he liked near his house; here's a video if you want details or think you might want to help:

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For now, Sweetsong can fly along the coast; if she goes far enough south she’ll find another harbor that has rail lines, or she could go north all the way to Vancouver Island and find a train there. It won’t get her off the island, though. Or she could put aside the train-jumping for a while and become a beach bum . . . there are plenty of options open to her.

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It’s fifteen miles from Rennie Island to the Pacific as the pegasus flies. Even for a pegasus who prefers hopping trains to flying, that’s not far. Sweetsong’s journey is nearly at an end.

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The end of the line . . . there’s not much further west Sweetsong can go before she runs out of tracks.

Fortunately, that’s the goal.

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Special thanks to AlwaysDressesInStyle, penguincascadia, and TomRedlion for pre-reading and providing facts!

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Centralia’s a good place to bathe, get some food, and then head west. The Pacific’s not that far anymore; it’s even within a few day’s flying distance if Sweetsong can’t find a train.

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Heading west out of Seattle is kinda complicated . . . just like getting from Michigan to Chicago, there’s a lake in the way and you have to go south first. Plus, a lot of trains is a lot of opportunities, but not necessarily a lot of speed.

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A mare can’t stay in one place forever, even Seattle. It’s time for Sweetsong to find another train and keep heading west—the ocean is calling.

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What’s a mare to do while waiting for the airplane museum to do? She could trot over the road and try to get a ride on a commuter train, or she could go on a flying tour of Puget Sound . . .

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Seattle! Home of the Space Needle and lots of coffee, not to mention the home of Boeing. A good place to tour for a bit, a good city for a pony to be in.

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One more tunnel, this one short, and then an open expanse of saltwater! Is it the Pacific?

Sadly not, but it’s close to the Pacific. Sweetsong’s nearly reached the ocean.

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Special thanks to AlwaysDressesInStyle for pre-reading!

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It’s not a planned stop, not even the more accustomed unplanned stop where Sweetsong wants to go further but the train doesn’t. After the tunnel, she just has to have sky and openness to decompress.

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Westward! Sweetsong’s found a good car to ride, one that’s safe and secure. There’s only one little flaw in her plan; maybe she should have looked at that map in the station more carefully.

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Special thanks to AlwaysDressesInStyle for pre-reading!

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If she picks her trains right, Sweetsong’s in the last state before she reaches the Pacific. For now, she needs to spend some times making more money, and figuring out which route she needs to take to go west, rather than down to Oregon. Although if she does go to Oregon, that’s not the end of the world . . . if she wanted an easy trip, she’d have taken Amtrak.

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Sweetsong slept through Marias Pass, and missed the giant obelisk. She also missed Horse Mountain . . .

Still, she can always come back later and see it in the day. There’s always a train to take her near where she wants to go.

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Sooner or later, Sweetsong has to get over the mountains if she wants to keep going west. It’s a mixed blessing; while she’s past the speedy railroad mainlines of the Midwest, now she’s got more scenery and fewer people who might spot her.

Having been on that route myself, I can say that it’s gorgeous.

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From riding in the cab of a DPU to accidentally boarding a local train that’s picking up grain cars at each elevator it passes . . . at least it’s picking up; if it was dropping off, Sweetsong might find herself stranded in the middle of Big Sky Country.

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Is this the most efficient route west? No, it isn’t. Sweetsong will get there when she gets there; it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.

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Pre-read by AlwaysDressesInStyle!

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Out of Nebraska and into Wyoming, the train goes through the night and Sweetsong goes with it. Past forgotten towns and along a reservoir and into the Wind River Canyon, the train winds along and encounters Sweetsong’s least-favorite railroad feature: tunnels.

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It’s no Big Boy, but the cab of a locomotive makes for a comfortable ride through Nebraska.

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Special thanks to AlwaysDressesInStyle for not only pre-reading, but also having been to Alliance and filling me in on where to get the best pizza there!

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All good things must come to an end, and so it is with Council Bluffs. The Big Boy must move on, and so too must Sweetsong; the rails are calling out their song. A train isn’t meant to stay in one place, and neither is Sweetsong.

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