The Man from Steamtown

by James R. Adair

The throbbing sound of the steam-driven pistons and sight of the flashing drive-rods quickened the boy's pulse. He had heard and seen it all from his bedroom window, but now he had stepped-in person-into the wonderful world of steam. F. Nelson Blount's interest in steam engines began when he was only four. As he grew up, he studied and wrote about them, often traveling many miles to see one. Yet it was years before he was able to pursue his dream of becoming an engineer. With his keen head for business and unyielding perseverance, Nelson became a millionaire in the seafood industry before he was thirty. Over the years, he did stunt flying and deep-sea fishing. He collected old guns, vintage cars, and finally, a railroad with a "thundering herd" of steam locomotives to preserve the wonderful Steam Age. Thus Steamtown, USA, was born, and Nelson fulfilled his lifelong dream. But none of this brought him true happiness or peace. It took his wife's near-fatal automobile accident to make Nelson realize that money has its limits, and there are some things only God can do. This led to Nelson's dramatic conversion and a relationship with Jesus Christ that turned him into a dynamic witness who put hundreds on track for the Lord. Even though Nelson died five years later, he left a legacy that is still impacting people today. The Man from Steamtown tells his amazing story.

300 pages, Paperback

First published January 5, 2015

Reviews

[Anson Cassel Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Moody Press editor commissioned writer James R. Adair (1923-2009), editor at Scripture Press Publications, to write this biography of American businessman and steam railroad enthusiast F. Nelson Blount (1918-1967). Presumably Moody intended the book to be an inspirational “as told to” autobiography of Blount, who had converted to evangelical Christianity five years previously and who had come to the attention of influential evangelicals including Billy Graham. Fortunately, Adair worked expeditiously because only a few months after publication, Blount was killed in the crash of a plane he had been piloting.

Though this is not a critical biography and Adair is only an average storyteller, Blount’s aggressive and obsessive personality is front and center. Blount was a risktaker both in business and at play. He told Adair, “I lived to do things no one else would do. I loved the thrill and excitement.” (69) He had wrecked four planes before the final crash that killed him. Once Blount became an evangelical Christian, his witnessing became so fervent that even some Christian friends were embarrassed.

It’s unfortunate that Adair and Moody Press had comparatively little interest in how Blount made his millions (mostly in the seafood industry) or even in how he went about collecting the steam trains that today form the core of the collection at Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The book also has no index.