From Yahoo Mopac group, June 2013

I have just posted a series of images at Trainorders.com (Nostalgia & History section), showing the arrival and switching operations of MP #1, the Texas Eagle, at Palestine. These were taken by Murrel Hogue in March and July 1968.

If anyone on-list actually witnessed that switching, could you explain how it all worked? I saw it only twice, and was visiting with a friend at the time and thus don’t have a detailed recollection. The Palestine switcher (a geep) worked from the rear of #1 and the Houston cars were set over to a second track. These cars were arranged out of Longview so that the Houston storage mail (and RPO prior to October 1967) then Houston coaches then the Houston Pullman were all together in one block to expedite switching. Was any other rearranging of train 41 necessary, other than adding road power, before it departed Palestine? Standing in front of the Palestine depot, would #41 have departed in the same direction as #1 before turning onto the Houston line?

The Official Guides from 1967-1968 indicate that a diner-coach operated in more or less captive service between Palestine and Houston. My recollection from observing #1 at Little Rock was that this diner-coach (cars 580-581-582) frequently operated through as one of the Houston coaches, particularly in heavy travel periods. Was the diner section open as a second food service car north of Palestine during that time?
Bill Pollard

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I rode the train between San Antonio and Texarkana with my mother when I was a child, but I don’t have much memory of the switching. I do remember one time seeing a dining car cook who was standing half in one car and half in another as the cars were being pulled apart. He let his legs spread quite a bit before he hopped into the car he was supposed to be in.
Charles Weston

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Bill,
I observed the “Texas Eagle” switching operations at Palestine in 1968. Just about everything I remember is covered in an article in “The Eagle” issue of Fall 1996, with photos. That article also gives a reference to a “Trains” magazine article about enroute passenger switching operations which features the “Texas Eagle” — no photos but a detailed car routing diagram.

Sorry to be so late about responding to your post — I don’t check the Yahoo groups very often so I get way behind. I would love to see the photos that you mentioned and compare them with the ones that I took (I am not a Trainorders member). By the way, I have since digitized the photos that are in the 1996 article. If you are interested in seeing them in color, and probably better quality, I will be glad to email the files to you. Let me know,
Jeff Pletcher

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Photo descriptions:
Palestine, Texas, in the days of Missouri Pacific passenger service, was the point where through coaches and sleeping cars between St. Louis and Houston were switched on and off of the Texas Eagle. A modern passenger station sat on one side of the mainline, and Missouri Pacific division offices on the opposite side. These images are scanned from slides taken by the late Murrel Hogue, longtime Amtrak agent at various Texas stations as well as Texarkana, Arkansas. This first group of images was processed in March 1968, and shows the arrival of train #1, the southbound Texas Eagle, scheduled into Palestine at 7:20am with 30 minutes station time for switching and servicing the train.

Note the crowd of people in the second photo… there are others photographing this train today, including one person with a tripod and movie camera. These people were likely with Murrel that day… hopefully those movies have survived in some collection. Train time at Palestine was a big event, even in the late 60s, as might be expected in a railroad town. One of those frequently watching the proceedings was Walter Robbins, a retired MP conductor who was a prolific timetable collector and dealer who helped introduce many people to timetables and railroad history.

The third photograph shows NdeM 10-roomette 6-double bedroom Pullman 506, Noruega, formerly NYC Whitewater River. This car was operating as sleeper loading number 102, St. Louis to Mexico City. Car 675 in front of the NdeM car, a 14 roomette-4 double bedroom sleeper named Eagle Island, has Pullman loading number 211, denoting the St. Louis-Houston sleeper which will be switched out at Palestine.

The final view from this group shows the Palestine switcher working train #1 to remove the Houston cars. This took several moves, separating coach HU-11 and sleeper 211, and then adding a diner-coach which operated between Palestine and Houston. Train 41, Palestine to Houston, departed at 8:10am, 20 minutes after #1’s departure. My recollection is that all switching of train #1 was handled from the rear of the train, with train 41 being built on the adjacent track. Details on the exact switching moves required, from someone more familiar with the operation, would be appreciated. I do know that HU-11 (and any other extra Houston coaches) were generally located immediately forward of sleeper 211, so that the entire block of cars could be removed at one time.