CHAPTER I – Tom Swift and His Elec­tric Loco­mo­tive begins not with gears turn­ing or engines roar­ing, but with an unex­pect­ed vis­it that hints at urgency and ambi­tion. Mr. Richard Bartholomew, a deter­mined man rep­re­sent­ing the Hen­drick­ton and Pas Alos Rail­road, arrives at the Swift home with a request that is as bold as it is risky. His com­pa­ny, bat­tling fierce com­pe­ti­tion and finan­cial insta­bil­i­ty, needs a rev­o­lu­tion­ary solu­tion. Fac­ing a pow­er­ful rival rail­road led by the resource­ful and, as he describes, ruth­less Mon­tagne Lewis, Bartholomew knows con­ven­tion­al upgrades will no longer suf­fice. The moun­tains his line cross­es are harsh, the ter­rain unfor­giv­ing, and coal-based loco­mo­tives are not effi­cient enough. He pro­pos­es an ambi­tious idea: a high-speed elec­tric loco­mo­tive capa­ble of two miles per minute that can per­form reli­ably across the tough­est routes.

Tom and his father, Bar­ton Swift, lis­ten with increas­ing inter­est. The offer is more than just tech­ni­cal; it’s wrapped in con­fi­den­tial­i­ty, com­pet­i­tive pres­sure, and the poten­tial to reshape the future of rail trans­porta­tion. Bartholomew doesn’t sug­ar­coat the risks. He sus­pects his rival has spies who may already be mon­i­tor­ing this new devel­op­ment, per­haps even with­in his own ranks. To show he’s seri­ous, Bartholomew offers $25,000 up front to fund the pro­to­type, with a fur­ther incen­tive of $100,000 and guar­an­teed bulk orders if the Swifts suc­ceed with­in two years. This is not just a busi­ness trans­ac­tion. It’s a strate­gic part­ner­ship in a high-stakes indus­tri­al show­down. For the Swifts, the offer presents both a thrilling chal­lenge and a heavy respon­si­bil­i­ty.

Tom is cap­ti­vat­ed. He sees not only the tech­ni­cal hur­dles but also the oppor­tu­ni­ty to push elec­tric rail tech­nol­o­gy beyond any­thing cur­rent­ly on the mar­ket. He’s aware that oth­er elec­tric trains exist—such as the well-known Jan­del model—but their speeds are lim­it­ed and per­for­mance drops sig­nif­i­cant­ly on steep or uneven routes. Bartholomew’s request isn’t just to improve; it’s to leap ahead of the curve. Tom begins sketch­ing ideas in his mind, think­ing about advanced motors, ener­gy-effi­cient dri­ve­trains, and enhanced pow­er dis­tri­b­u­tion. He envi­sions dynam­ic sys­tems that can adapt to changes in ter­rain with­out sac­ri­fic­ing speed. The dream isn’t only to meet Bartholomew’s expectations—but to exceed them with an inven­tion that could lead the entire indus­try in a new direc­tion.

Bar­ton Swift, always mea­sured in his approach, con­sid­ers the prac­ti­cal­i­ties. He’s seen the highs and lows of tech­no­log­i­cal ambi­tion and knows how eas­i­ly inno­va­tion can attract dan­ger. His advice to Tom is clear: embrace the project, but remain cau­tious. The elder Swift rais­es ques­tions about secu­ri­ty, dis­cre­tion, and how they might pro­tect their plans from pry­ing eyes. Bartholomew con­firms those con­cerns, recount­ing how rivals like Lewis are known to play dirty—using spies, bribery, and even threats to dis­rupt progress. That rev­e­la­tion doesn’t deter Tom. If any­thing, it hard­ens his resolve. He sug­gests they begin work­ing immediately—but under strict con­fi­den­tial­i­ty, using only trust­ed per­son­nel and encrypt­ed doc­u­men­ta­tion.

The fam­i­ly work­shop, long a place of cre­ativ­i­ty and inven­tion, becomes the focal point of some­thing much larg­er. Tom begins draft­ing the first con­cept dia­grams in short­hand only he and his father can ful­ly inter­pret. The project will require not only bril­liance but also secu­ri­ty and secre­cy. Mate­ri­als must be sourced qui­et­ly, and test­ing must be done in pri­vate. Tom also begins plan­ning the infra­struc­ture need­ed: a test­ing track, con­trol equip­ment, and volt­age sys­tems strong enough to sup­port sus­tained high-speed per­for­mance. Every detail matters—from the weight of the loco­mo­tive to its wheel trac­tion on steep inclines. Fail­ure is not an option—not just for their own rep­u­ta­tion, but because an entire railroad’s future may rest on their suc­cess.

Bartholomew’s pas­sion for the project comes not just from com­pe­ti­tion but from a belief in mod­ern­iz­ing rail trav­el. He explains how ris­ing fuel costs and oper­a­tional inef­fi­cien­cies are mak­ing tra­di­tion­al loco­mo­tives increas­ing­ly unsus­tain­able. Elec­tri­fi­ca­tion, he believes, is not just the next step—it is the only path for­ward. With elec­tric­i­ty, main­te­nance costs drop, fuel sup­ply becomes more pre­dictable, and envi­ron­men­tal impact is less­ened. For Bartholomew, this isn’t just about sav­ing his com­pa­ny; it’s about set­ting a prece­dent. And he believes Tom Swift is the only per­son with the inno­va­tion, integri­ty, and tech­ni­cal abil­i­ty to make it hap­pen.

The con­ver­sa­tion ends with all par­ties aligned but aware of what lies ahead. Tom accepts the chal­lenge, excit­ed by both the tech­ni­cal puz­zle and the chance to shape the future of rail trans­porta­tion. Bar­ton agrees as well but reminds Tom of the impor­tance of dis­cre­tion. Plans are made to for­mal­ize the agree­ment with­in a few days, and Bartholomew leaves, express­ing grat­i­tude and guard­ed opti­mism. As the Swifts watch him go, they’re not cel­e­brat­ing just yet. There’s a sense that some­thing big­ger is brewing—something that will demand more than blue­prints and engines. It will require strat­e­gy, pro­tec­tion, and per­se­ver­ance.

As Tom clos­es the work­shop for the night, his mind remains focused. He isn’t just think­ing about speed or torque. He’s think­ing about how this machine—once built—might change the world’s per­cep­tion of what elec­tric rail­ways can do. And more urgent­ly, he’s think­ing about how to keep the project safe from those who fear that change.