With a portable cassette recorder, conductor Charlie Harris made a remarkable recording of the last Rock Island train to depart El Dorado, Arkansas. It was March 28, 1980 as the bankrupt railroad was being shut down. On the 40th anniversary of that sad occasion, I’m posting audio from that tape here.
Employees on the lead locomotive of the final Rock Island train to depart El Dorado, Arkansas on March 28, 1980. (Left to right): Brakeman Eddie Wells, Trainmaster James Cardin, (in front) head Brakeman Marvin Hux, swing Brakeman R.D. Mathews, Engineer J.W. Griffin and Fireman Phineas Warnix in the door of the engine.
Thanks to Charles Engelberger for reaching out to me and sharing this and two other vintage tapes recorded by Harris. I have digitized the tapes so that the recordings will be preserved and can be shared online. The audio quality is a little thin, but given the age of the cassette, is still very impressive. I’ve edited and cleaned up the audio a bit, but left intact Harris’ conversations.
The tape starts with Harris calling the Rock Island station in El Dorado, speaking with Clerk Bruce Nelson about when the final train would be leaving. No. 34 was an extra running northbound to Fordyce where it would be picked up by the Cotton Belt, which was temporarily taking over operation of Rock Island tracks. From there the train would be taken the rest of the way to Biddle Yard in Little Rock. The cars were mostly empties that had been collected south of El Dorado. The train consisted of three engines, 75-80 cars and four cabooses.
AUDIO: Charlie Harris records the last Rock Island train to leave El Dorado, including interviews with employees.
Head Brakeman Marvin Hux and Fireman Phineas Warnix wave to the camera from locomotive 4428.
Harris and Engineer Bill Girard were sitting on Main Street as the last train approached. Harris describes the scene, then talks by radio with Engineer J.W. Griffin, who he calls “Big John.” Also on-board are Fireman Phineas Warnix, head Brakeman Marvin Hux, swing Brakeman R.D. Mathews and Brakeman Eddie Wells. Then Harris talks on the radio with Conductor Jimmy Humble as the caboose passes.
The images here aren’t great quality, I think because they were Instamatic photos. Below are the train orders. I welcome any additional details or corrections anyone can offer. Write to: michael@hibblenradio.com.
A train order for the last Rock Island train to depart El Dorado.
A train order for the last Rock Island train to depart El Dorado.
Engineer J.W. “Big John” Griffin and Fireman Phineas Warnix on the front of locomotive 4428, which has a smiley painted inside the R.
