Having worked as a youthful telegrapher for the Cotton Belt and L&A railroads in the early 1950's, I was displaced by CTC, but maintained an interest in railroading. I managed to stay continued in contact with railroad employees with whom I had worked, and took up rail photography as a hobby. The idea came to me that perhaps the railroad would like to document the final passenger run in Texas. Somewhat uncertain about the chances, especially since train discontinuances were usually surrounded with secrecy, I contacted a person in the Public Relations Dept. of the Missouri Pacific in St. Louis by letter, aided by a phone call from an official in Longview.
I also proposed to submit an article to the Longview Morning Journal, with photographs, for publication in a daily issue, while promising not to place the railroad in an unfavorable light. After a couple of weeks, I received a positive response along with a "photographers release" form which had to be notarized and returned. This release was returned in a couple of days.
The letter that accompanied the release requested my work and home telephone numbers, and mentioned that the last run could come on a relatively short notice. The railroad would make every effort to contact me with as much advance notice as possible.
The release was returned to me about two weeks later. The prohibition against riding on locomotives and cars had been waived. All that remained was to wait for the phone call. In the meantime, I made plans; decided which type camera and film to use, and persuaded a co-worker at Texas Eastman, who was a photographer like myself, to make the trip. It was surprising how responsive the railroad had been to my request.
Several months passed. One Monday afternoon in September, 1970, I left my office and went into an operating area of our plant. Upon returning, there was a call-back note on my desk that read something like "tonight is last run for No. 22" and left a telephone number in St. Louis. It was about 3:00 PM when the call came from St. Louis. No. 22 was due out of Palestine about 7:30 PM. I returned the call and was given the specifics, along with a request not to publicize the run in advance. A short while later, a call came from the Supt. office in Palestine giving the same information, and advising me to meet the outbound crew at the register room in the depot at Palestine.
Ray Sheridan, MP RFE was riding westbound No. 61 between Marshall and Longview enroute to Ft. Worth, when he received a radio message to leave No. 61 at Longview, and ride No. 267 to Palestine. No reason was given. He was also instructed to ride No. 22 from Palestine to Texarkana that evening.
My friend, Donald Ormes, a fire protection specialist, and I left Texas Eastman about 5 PM driving to Palestine. The trip only required a little over an hour. Upon arriving Palestine I located conductor Tony Dressel, and the brakeman. The engineer, Kelly Steele, and fireman Fred Hickman arrived shortly afterwards. The crew signed the register, read orders, and compared watches. In the meantime No. 22's connection from Hearne arrived. It was about an hour late.
I walked next door to the passenger waiting room and purchased the last ticket sold at Palestine. It was my intention to keep the stub as a souvenir. I handed the ticket to Don to use to board the train. The conductor said the trip was on him, so the ticket and stub remain intact.
I boarded the cab of C&EI engine 43, an E-8A passenger locomotive, a minute or two prior to departure. The RFE was in the cab which had only three seats. The RFE would stand beside the engineer for the Palestine to Jacksonville leg of the trip. Before leaving Palestine, Mr. Sheridan guided me back to the engine compartment and permitted me to photograph the engine room and steam generator. Our train consisted of one engine, and two passenger cars - - a lounge car, and a passenger coach. The speed limit was 60 MPH. The RFE instructed me to repeat block signals along with others in cab. Engineer Steele kept the cab interior lights on for a few miles in order for me to take photographs, and be photographed while the train was moving.
At Jacksonville, there was a brief, one minute or so stop which just barely gave me time to walk from the engine to the coach. About seven or eight of the conductors great grand children, accompanied by an adult had ridden the train from Palestine to Jacksonville.
Don had already taken pictures in the coach and diner-lounge. A ham sandwich and coke were waiting for me in the diner-lounge. The dining car crew of two men were very courteous. Both were employees with many years of service. I learned that one had offered to walk through the lounge car and engine compartment of the locomotive, while moving, to deliver the meal to me. Don thanked him, but advised I would be joining them in the lounge car at Jacksonville.
The next stops, were Troup and Kilgore where there was little passenger activity, and we departed after short stops. I do not recall meeting any trains between Palestine and Longview.
At Longview, we pulled into track Passenger 2, which was located next to the station. This track provided access to the train without having to go through the tunnel as would have been the case on Passenger 1, or the main track. There was only a scattering of passengers ready to board the train. The office personnel had come out on the platform to take a last look at the train. A new crew boarded the train for the run to Texarkana. The departure of No. 22 from Longview closed out 101 years of passenger train service. Both Conductor Dressel and Engineer Steele retired after the final run.
The crew on the former T&P line from Longview to Texarkana was made up of conductor J. K. Welsh, brakeman C. F. Adams, engineer J. K. Musselwhite, and fireman C. E. Palmer.
In 1957 there had been fourteen passenger trains each day between Longview and Marshall; ten between Longview and Fort Worth, and six between Longview and Palestine. During WWII, the "Sunshine Special", predecessor of the "Eagle", was run in two sections out of Texarkana, one each for Houston and Laredo. No. 15, the mail train, also frequently ran in two sections to Ft. Worth, and continued to run in sections as late as 1948. Eagle passenger train service was inaugurated in Texas in August, 1948.
The MP began to actively solicit passenger traffic for tourists to and from Mexico from 1920 onwards via the new passenger train called the "Sunshine Special", which had connections at Laredo for Mexico City. This heavily advertised, air-conditioned, luxurious train was a great success. So successful, in fact, was this train that a grateful president of Mexico bestowed upon MP railroad president Neff, the highest decoration that nation can bestow upon a foreigner, "The Order of the Aztec Eagle". Then, there was the old MP slogan, "when its a hundred in the shade, it's seventy in the Sunshine'", referring to the comfortable, air-conditioned cars.
Locomotive Engineer Kelly Steele and Road Foreman Ray Sheridan check the train orders before leaving.
The Eagle's whistle echoes through the East Texas darkness for the last time. -- Photos Courtesy C. Harris
5-98