A Stop at Willoughby

"A Stop at Willoughby" is episode 30 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. Rod Serling cited this as his favorite story from the first season of the series. Opening narration Plot Gart Williams is a 20th-century New York City advertising executive who has grown exasperated with his career. His overbearing boss, Oliver Misrell, angered by the loss of a major account, lectures him about giving the "push-push-push" until Gart insults him. Unable to sleep properly at home, he drifts off for a short nap on the train during his daily commute through the November snow. He wakes to find the train stopped and that he is now in a 19th-century railway car, deserted except for himself. The sun is bright outside, and as he looks out the window, he discovers that the train is in a town called Willoughby. He eventually learns that it is July 1888. He learns that this is a "peaceful, restful, where a man can slow down to a walk and live his life full measure." Being jerked awake into the real world, he asks the railroad conductor if he has ever heard of Willoughby, but the conductor replies, "Not on this run...no Willoughby on the line."