Atlas Shrugged/Section112

Atlas Shrugged, Part 1, Chapter 1, section 2:     Previous Next

• Plot summary

Dagny Taggart is riding the Taggart Comet back to New York after inspecting the Rio Norte Line. She hears a Brakeman whistling an unpublished piece from her favorite composer, Richard Halley, but the brakeman refuses to acknowledge this or say where he heard it. After falling asleep and waking up, Dagny discovers the train has come to a stop at a siding. She finds the train crew passively waiting instructions, and gives them orders on how to proceed. Faced with this incompetence, she decides to promote Owen Kellogg to superintendent of the Ohio Division.

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• Setting

Taggart Comet, stalled between Cleveland and New York.

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• Characters

 Brakeman
 Conductor - First and only appearance.
 Engineer - First and only appearance.
 Dagny Taggart
 Owen Kellogg - Mentioned.
 Passenger Number 1 - First and only appearance.
 Passenger Number 2 - First and only appearance.
 Richard Halley - Mentioned.

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• Mysteries

What was the Brakeman whistling? Did Halley write a Fifth Concerto?