An organizational meeting for a Tyler Chapter of the Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society was recently held in Tyler. According to Whitehouse resident Gerald Cooper, there are many like himself who are members of the Pine Bluff based group living in the Tyler area. He added, "It is our desire to offer railroad buffs and CBRHS members living in the area the opportunity to join with us and work together locally to help preserve the railroad history of the region. Railroading played a very important part in the commercial and social development of East Texas and we want to see that this segment of our past is preserved and made available to future generations."

Cooper said another reason for organizing a local chapter of the CBRHS is to give added support to activities surrounding the visit of the 819 to Tyler for the Texas Rose Festival in October. "For the past several years the CBRHS has offered the public a round-trip steam train excursion from Pine Bluff to Tyler. Last year a one-day round-trip to Athens was added to the train's weekend activities and was overwhelmingly received.

Because of the great public response to last year's visit, plans have already been made to bring the 819 to Tyler again this fall. By organizing a local chapter of the CBRHS, we can offer added support to this fun project."

Those interested in further information may contact Cooper at (903) 839-2501. Look for news from the Tyler Tap Chapter in upcoming issues of the Cotton Belt Star.

There is a stop in Forest Park, site of the 1904 World's Fair, Busch Stadium, home field of the St. Louis Cardinals, the University of Missouri at St. Louis, and the Central West End neighborhood, an area near Forest Park known for its antiques shops, galleries, bookstores and cafes.

Visitors can buy a one-day pass for $3 on the eighteen mile route, which is called Metrolink and was inaugurated last summer.

There is also free travel between any of six downtown stations from 10 A.M. to 3 P.M. Monday through Friday.

Passengers may travel between any two points on the Metrolink for $1, or buy a three-day pass for unlimited use for $7. For information call (800) 888-3861. (Ties & Tracks)

Some ask why men, both young and old, are fascinated by steam locomotives. The best answer I've heard to this question, now that I am in middle age, was something to the effect that "If you have to ask, then you probably wouldn't understand." This is why I'm thrilled to see #819 roll again, and the restoration work completed on tender #814. There was a fascination--a romance--about the big steam locomotive that the diesels just can't match.

I remember, as a young lad in Fordyce, (on the Cotton Belt), hearing the wail of our big 800s heading east and west on the main line late at night, hammering. Their whistles whetted a boy's appetite for adventure! This was at a time when people read, and could carry on a discussion, and actively use their imagination, as opposed to passively sitting by the television! During the heyday of our big 800 series, one had the feeling that "things were happening!" And they were.

We were in the midst of a terrible global war that affected all of us. I remember dad, as a Cities Service distributor, leaving at odd hours of the night to quickly unload a tank car that had been dropped off at his siding. Time was of the essence; if the tank car was not unloaded promptly, then the next Cotton Belt through freight would pick it up.

During this time, #813 was one of the heavy haulers for Cotton Belt. She and her four sisters were part of the first block built at our own Cotton Belt yard in Pine Bluff. #819 and her block followed in 1942. On this particular day, dad came home and told us there'd been a train wreck on the main line down by Eagle Mills (at Kent), and we drove down to the scene. #813 lay on her side. Its' crew was dead. Debris from the wreck and boxcars littered the track and right-of-way. There were several small houses not far from the scene, and rumor had it that the inhabitants hadn't waken up when the accident occurred! I went up to the locomotive and peered inside. There was mud in the cab and in front of the firebox. Cases of Campbell's Soup from one of the wrecked cars were scattered around the area. As a youngster, I was surprised to see adults picking up cans of beer, at the expense of the soup!

Later on, as I grew older, I heard from a long-time Cotton Belt employee what had happened to #813. She was heading west with a full load, towards Camden and Texarkana. Apparently, a switch engine was being warmed up at the yard in Camden. The crew was not aboard at the time. The engine headed out and somehow wound up on the main line, heading east at high speed. The Cotton Belt people did everything possible, throwing switches and telephoning, but always a step behind the speeding switch engine. It hit #813 head-on, at full speed, and badly damaged a first-class locomotive and killed its' crew.

I saw the big Cotton Belt steam-operated wrecking crane pull up behind another engine, to clear the tracks and start salvage work on #813. We then drove home.

#813 was loaded with vital war material. This was one of many runs on the St. Louis/Tyler run that she'd made, day and night, seven days a week, in this wartime environment. Unfortunately, her luck ran out on that curve.

Recently, I read a book about the home front in WWII. The big lines had full-page ads on how they had reduced turn-around times for maintenance on their main-line locomotives from days to hours. This was the same, no doubt, with Cotton Belt. I saw their big ones coming through Fordyce, one right after another, and would count the cars full of armor or fuel oil. The railroads certainly played a big part in winning WWII, one that probably has not been adequately recognized. It wouldn't hurt the Pentagon to hang one of its' wartime blue "E" flags for "efficiency" on #819 and Cotton Belt, even today. They earned it.

As a Vietnam veteran, I doubt if anyone would challenge me when I said that #813's crew were also casualties of WWII. Just as much as any soldier, sailor or airman. Remember, #813 was highballing when she went, not sitting idly on some siding. Her brave crew and their families have my respect.

Yes, "things were happening." #813, #819 and their sisters were "there." So was I, even though a youngster who was fortunate enough to have seen it happen by living on the main line. This is why I plan to see our #819 roll this year. I'll cheer when she pulls into Fordyce, on that same main line that #813 and the rest of our 800s used, so many years ago.

I guess if you have to ask "why," then you probably wouldn't understand. (Editor's Note: CBRHS member Paul Files, Jr. lives in Everett WA.)

St. Louis Union Station will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 1994. As part of the celebration, there will be a number of railroad-related events throughout the spring, summer, and early fall. (Gateway Railletter via The Pioneer)

Anyone who thrives on thrills and daily excitement should have worked on the Pine Bluff Sub-Division of the Cotton Belt Railway back in the 1930s and 40s. No two days were ever alike and there was no semblance of boredom. This was before CTC, radio communication, air conditioning, diesels, paid vacations and sick leave. Railroad operation was as different from today's operation as night and day.

The Cotton Belt was a single track railroad and train movements were by Timetable and Train Orders. During WWII business increased to such an extent that it was a miracle that the dispatchers were able to handle it. During this period, two wooden trestles on the Missouri Pacific burned on the main line between Little Rock and Texarkana, and all those MP freight and passenger trains detoured over the Pine Bluff Sub-Division on the Cotton Belt for three days. During those war years we had experiences that would make your hair stand on end, but we were VERY lucky.

On New Year's day about 1943, I was on first trick Fordyce tower sending a Western Union telegram when I heard No. 80, a RI freight, whistling up a storm several miles out. He was about five minutes ahead of No. 632, a passenger train. First 43, a Cotton Belt Blue Streak freight, was approaching the Tower so I lined the route for him. No. 80 came around the curve, wide open, with three cars and a caboose as First 43 moved through the interlocker. To avoid derailing No. 80 down an embankment, I jumped up and closed the derail and lined for the interchange track, without giving No. 80 any signal. If he went through the interlocking plant and hit the side of First 43 he would do so only after running two restrictive signals. No. 80 finally got stopped half way through the interchange track, after using an impressive amount of sand. The relief crew piled off the engine and walked around it, amazed that they were still on the rail. The conductor climbed up the stairs to the office. When he asked if he should report the incident, I replied: "Forget it."

In retrospect I marvel that I survived almost 44 years on the railroad. Like the time I came within five seconds of derailing one of those beautiful 800 engines. On my first day at Faith, Arkansas, a southbound freight over-ran the north switch, had to cut off the engine with three cars, drift down to the south end, back through the siding, couple up, work the air, and pull into the siding. All this required about 30 minutes delay for the northbound train being met. The siding at Faith was on the side of a hill, descending southbound. The dispatcher asked me, in the future, to handle the north switch to avoid such delays. On this particular day the southbound freight, pulled by two 800 engines spaced five cars, came down the hill wide open. I gave him a slow sign with a red flag but the engineer didn't respond. At that moment in your career you are between a rock and a hard place. I asked myself if the dispatcher was mistaken on a Faith meet, or if the engineer had overlooked the meet. Then at the last moment the engineer big-holed his train. I very quickly then lined the switch. I can still see the switch points meshed to line for the siding, and immediately thereafter the pilot wheels of the lead engine entered the siding. When the train came to a halt, the second engine was on the switch and the silence was deafening. The head brakeman walked back and said: "I don't know what's wrong with that engineer. He did the same thing at South Pine Bluff."

In 1941 there was a near corn-field meet between two 800s between McNeil and Waldo. Earlier I had overheard on the dispatcher's phone a crossover McNeil meet issued, then I had worked mail, baggage and express on No. 2. I heard First 17 puffing up McNeil hill and so attempted to report to the DS. But no response as Slim was downstairs enjoying coffee. I made several such attempts, especially when I saw he was wide open coming down the hill. I had a clear board, and could only assume the meet had been changed at Buena Vista. I will never forget the look on the conductor's face when he saw that clear board. He immediately pulled the air. First 17 had just come to a stop, when I heard a northbound 800 whistling about three miles out. At that time Slim called, and belatedly informed me that First 17 would head in at the crossover McNeil. I acted very composed, and thanked him. That was one of many close calls that Pine Bluff never knew about.

But one corn-field meet they all knew about happened about 1943. Business was more than good. One morning I lined up Southward Siding Fordyce for a southbound freight to head in and meet seven trains, then head out six miles to meet six more at Thornton. With Third 18 cleared, orders in the hoop, and the interlocker lined, the dispatcher's bell rang. The original clearance was "busted" and a meet was changed from Saline to Kingsland. Third 18 was already in sight so it took very quick work not to stop him. About ten minutes later the phone rang again. "What orders did you give Third 18? He's by Kingsland!"

It was with trepidation that I reached for the wastebasket, and it was quite a pause before I responded. All the old clearances, I found with relief, had been destroyed, and Third 18's orders were all in order. Superintendent Ferguson came in on the phone and asked Slim where they would meet, and was assured they would meet on straight track. The two trains, both 800s, did stop short of each other, and Third 18 backed into Kingsland.

I doubt very seriously that many people realized the terrible responsibility we had back in the good old days, handling millions of dollars in equipment, and being responsible for hundreds of human lives on a daily basis. Those train crews were much more than brave, especially those who rode those beautiful steam engines. My hat has always been off for the dispatchers. I've often wondered how they did it.

ready to roll - Cotton Belt 819 outside the Arkansas Railroad Museum prior to the 1993 Tyler trip.