by fauxcelt
I would like to share two experiences I had riding on the Texas Eagle between Little Rock, Arkansas and San Antonio, Texas during the 1980's.
In 1983 or 1984, I rode the Texas Eagle from Little Rock, Arkansas to San Antonio, Texas to visit with my family. When the train stopped at Fort Worth, Texas for fifteen minutes for refueling and a crew change, it was two hours behind schedule. So I got off the train and found a pay telephone (remember those?) to make a collect call to my father. Since he was supposed to meet the train when it arrived in San Antonio, I needed to warn him that the train was two hours behind schedule. However, when the train arrived in San Antonio, it was only one hour late instead of two. Which meant that my father wasn't at the station when the train arrived and I had to call him to tell him that the train had arrived earlier than expected. I guess the engineer made up that hour somewhere in central Texas between Fort Worth and Austin. I remember standing in the back of the train for a while after the train left Fort Worth and thinking that the train seemed to be going really, really fast. Yes, the train was already behind schedule when it arrived in Little Rock early that morning.
During a similar trip two or three years later, I had a surreal experience somewhere in central Texas between Fort Worth and Austin because they were replacing the ties. The old ties which had been removed were still sitting in several piles on either side of the tracks and the train was going slow through the construction zone. Since it was winter and the days were short, it was already getting dark when the train started through the construction zone. Somehow or for some reason, the old ties which were still piled on either side of the tracks had started burning. I don't know whether or not the fires were accidental or deliberately set to dispose of the old ties but it was surreal to be riding this train which was moving so slowly in the dark with mysterious fires on either side of it.
I thought the railroads disposed of used ties with some method other than burning them alongside the tracks.
In 1983 or 1984, I rode the Texas Eagle from Little Rock, Arkansas to San Antonio, Texas to visit with my family. When the train stopped at Fort Worth, Texas for fifteen minutes for refueling and a crew change, it was two hours behind schedule. So I got off the train and found a pay telephone (remember those?) to make a collect call to my father. Since he was supposed to meet the train when it arrived in San Antonio, I needed to warn him that the train was two hours behind schedule. However, when the train arrived in San Antonio, it was only one hour late instead of two. Which meant that my father wasn't at the station when the train arrived and I had to call him to tell him that the train had arrived earlier than expected. I guess the engineer made up that hour somewhere in central Texas between Fort Worth and Austin. I remember standing in the back of the train for a while after the train left Fort Worth and thinking that the train seemed to be going really, really fast. Yes, the train was already behind schedule when it arrived in Little Rock early that morning.
During a similar trip two or three years later, I had a surreal experience somewhere in central Texas between Fort Worth and Austin because they were replacing the ties. The old ties which had been removed were still sitting in several piles on either side of the tracks and the train was going slow through the construction zone. Since it was winter and the days were short, it was already getting dark when the train started through the construction zone. Somehow or for some reason, the old ties which were still piled on either side of the tracks had started burning. I don't know whether or not the fires were accidental or deliberately set to dispose of the old ties but it was surreal to be riding this train which was moving so slowly in the dark with mysterious fires on either side of it.
I thought the railroads disposed of used ties with some method other than burning them alongside the tracks.
