The scary story which the train passenger reads is "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe.
The family travels on an Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway 's (a.k.a. Santa Fe Railway or AT&SF) passenger train, hauled by the classic 'EMD F7', a 1,500 horsepower (1,100 kW) Diesel-electric locomotive, produced between February 1949 and December 1953. The AT&SF was the subject of the popular 1947 Academy Awards winning song "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe", written by Harry Warren and lyrics by Johnny Mercer, for the film The Harvey Girls (1946).
Len Lesser (Manikoo) was a prolific character actor in film, TV and on stage. He appeared on American television steadily since 1955 but became best known to 1990s audiences for his recurring role as 'Uncle Leo' on Seinfeld (1989).
When searching for Herman, Lily adapts the U.S. Postal Service creed, which actually reads "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds".
Buffalo Valley was so named on account of buffalo grass in the area.