Whistle-Stop Photos
Since the late 1800s, presidential candidates have used whistle-stop train tours to deliver their campaign messages directly to voters.
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Historically, candidates would make brief appearances at a series of small towns along the rails, giving speeches from the back of an observation or private car. | 
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Sitting presidents also depended on the railroad. President Franklin Roosevelt traveled nearly 250,000 rail miles while in office, conducting several secret trips to boost morale at America's military bases during World War II. |
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Following President Harry S Truman's pivotally successful whistle-stop in 1948, then-candidate Dwight Eisenhower campaigned extensively by train in 1952. | 
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"This train is headed not only south," John F. Kennedy shouted to a crowd during his 1960 whistle-stop campaign, "but it's headed toward Washington!" (Source: Time, September 19, 1960) |
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In 1992, President George H.W. Bush campaigned on board a train called the Spirit of America. | 
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When Robert Kennedy campaigned through the Midwest in 1968, he traveled with 125 people and one cocker spaniel - his constant companion, Freckles. |
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