That Hell-Bound Train
Encyclopedia
"That Hell-Bound Train" is a fantasy
short story
by Robert Bloch
from 1958 that won the Hugo Award
in 1959. It was originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in September 1958.
, and his mother runs away with a traveling salesman. Martin escapes from an orphanage
and drifts from job to job, once even stealing hubcaps for a living. He is oddly attracted to trains, and he rides them everywhere he goes, continually humming a tune his father used to sing, That Hell-Bound Train.
One night, after Martin decides he isn't cut out for a life of petty larceny and contemplates joining the Salvation Army
, a large, black, and unmarked train he does not recognize stops near him. The train conductor
gets off, bearing a lantern he lights by blowing on it, and offers Martin anything he wants, in return for which he will ride that Hell
-Bound Train when he dies. Martin believes he has outsmarted the Conductor by asking for the ability to stop time forever at the moment of his choosing, when he is happiest. The Conductor agrees, and gives him a pocket-watch with which he may stop time by unwinding the watch. (It is never made clear if the Conductor actually is the Devil.)
He fixes up his life, getting a job and subsequent promotions. He meets a woman he would like to marry, and wonders if he should stop time at the moment she accepts him but decides against it because she won't have sex
until marriage. Martin has a son, but decides to wait until he is grown to stop time. By the time this happens, Martin is balding and has a gut, although he is now wealthy. But he again finds happiness, this time in an affair
with a younger woman, and again considers stopping time, until his wife discovers the affair; their divorce
leaves Martin broke.
He is old by the time he regains his fortune, but decides to travel around the world to look for happiness, but there is no moment in his travels perfect enough to warrant stopping the watch. He tries to make some friends, in order to stop time at a moment of ideal friendship, but it is too late. He has a stroke
, and goes to the hospital, but sneaks out to look for his moment, only to have a second stroke just as he decides happiness is freedom. As he lies dying by an embankment, he wonders if he should stop time then so as to save his soul
, even if he has to live his dying agony forever. He decides against it and the train returns with the Conductor to take Martin to the "Depot Way Down Yonder."
The Conductor tells Martin that others have tried this wish, but they also never found the perfect moment, always waiting for something better, until they died just like him. Martin laments for a moment but realizes there are others on the Hell-Bound Train, and they are all having their last and greatest time. To the Conductor's surprise and horror, Martin chooses that moment to stop time, thus rendering the train and all its riders permanently traveling.
The story ends with Martin as the new brakeman
on That Hell-Bound Train.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
by Robert Bloch
Robert Bloch
Robert Albert Bloch was a prolific American writer, primarily of crime, horror and science fiction. He is best known as the writer of Psycho, the basis for the film of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock...
from 1958 that won the Hugo Award
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
in 1959. It was originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in September 1958.
Plot summary
In the beginning of the story, Martin is orphaned when his father, in a drunken stupor, is killed by a trainTrain
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
, and his mother runs away with a traveling salesman. Martin escapes from an orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
and drifts from job to job, once even stealing hubcaps for a living. He is oddly attracted to trains, and he rides them everywhere he goes, continually humming a tune his father used to sing, That Hell-Bound Train.
One night, after Martin decides he isn't cut out for a life of petty larceny and contemplates joining the Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
, a large, black, and unmarked train he does not recognize stops near him. The train conductor
Conductor (transportation)
A conductor is a member of a railway train's crew that is responsible for operational and safety duties that do not involve the actual operation of the train. The title of conductor is most associated with railway operations in North America, but the role of conductor is common to railways...
gets off, bearing a lantern he lights by blowing on it, and offers Martin anything he wants, in return for which he will ride that Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
-Bound Train when he dies. Martin believes he has outsmarted the Conductor by asking for the ability to stop time forever at the moment of his choosing, when he is happiest. The Conductor agrees, and gives him a pocket-watch with which he may stop time by unwinding the watch. (It is never made clear if the Conductor actually is the Devil.)
He fixes up his life, getting a job and subsequent promotions. He meets a woman he would like to marry, and wonders if he should stop time at the moment she accepts him but decides against it because she won't have sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
until marriage. Martin has a son, but decides to wait until he is grown to stop time. By the time this happens, Martin is balding and has a gut, although he is now wealthy. But he again finds happiness, this time in an affair
Infidelity
In many intimate relationships in many cultures there is usually an express or implied expectation of exclusivity, especially in sexual matters. Infidelity most commonly refers to a breach of the expectation of sexual exclusivity.Infidelity can occur in relation to physical intimacy and/or...
with a younger woman, and again considers stopping time, until his wife discovers the affair; their divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
leaves Martin broke.
He is old by the time he regains his fortune, but decides to travel around the world to look for happiness, but there is no moment in his travels perfect enough to warrant stopping the watch. He tries to make some friends, in order to stop time at a moment of ideal friendship, but it is too late. He has a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
, and goes to the hospital, but sneaks out to look for his moment, only to have a second stroke just as he decides happiness is freedom. As he lies dying by an embankment, he wonders if he should stop time then so as to save his soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
, even if he has to live his dying agony forever. He decides against it and the train returns with the Conductor to take Martin to the "Depot Way Down Yonder."
The Conductor tells Martin that others have tried this wish, but they also never found the perfect moment, always waiting for something better, until they died just like him. Martin laments for a moment but realizes there are others on the Hell-Bound Train, and they are all having their last and greatest time. To the Conductor's surprise and horror, Martin chooses that moment to stop time, thus rendering the train and all its riders permanently traveling.
The story ends with Martin as the new brakeman
Brakeman
A brakeman is a rail transport worker whose original job it was to assist the braking of a train by applying brakes on individual wagons. The advent of through brakes on trains made this role redundant, although the name lives on in the United States where brakemen carry out a variety of functions...
on That Hell-Bound Train.