The next day I was waiting at Purcell for a train to chase south. Purcell seems to be an unlikely place for a crew change terminal. The more logical place would have been Oklahoma City which is closer to the mid point trains between Ark City, KS and Gainesville, TX. The actual mid point is at Moore, just four miles south of Flynn Yard at the south end of Oklahoma City. Purcell is 154 miles south of Ark City and was the location of the joining of two railroads. The Southern Kansas building south from Newton, KS met the Gulf Coast and Santa Fe building north from Galveston at Purcell in April 1887. The milepost which have increased to 417.3 as we proceed further south now begin to decrease from 517.5. I am waiting for a new crew to get on Extra 3530 West.

While waiting I decided to get a bite to eat. Since I was getting rather shaggy on top and was starting a new job the next day, I also decided it was time to get a haircut. I should have stayed shaggy. While I was getting my haircut, train symbol 405 (Extra 3530 West) slipped out of town and a unit grain train (Extra 3626 West) slipped in. The bridge in the background is Route 39 crossing over the small yard and the Canadian River. The date is June 10, 1978. Disk 85

Index

Pauls Valley