Passenger Train Travel era 1940s
Riding a passenger train in the 1940s, especially with the crowded conditions 
during World War ll, was a big adventure for a small town boy. The
trains were the same as they had been for years and were crowded beyond
belief. Most of the time during the war, there was standing room only.
Soldiers, sailors, all branches of the service were traveling to
various destinations. People were sleeping in the aisles, standing in
the vestibules, anywhere they could crowd into a passenger coach. If
you wanted to go from one coach to another coach, it was better to wait
until the train made a stop and then get off and go up the station
platform and reboard the train at the coach you wanted to be in.
Passenger trains were still crowded on certain days up to the early
1960s. People were not supposed to stand in the vestibules when the
train was moving, however they did because of the crowded conditions.
Often the top door would be open and cinders and smoke from the coal
burning steam engines would come into the vestibule. It was easy to get
a cinder in your eye.The only engines seen in the south at that time
were steam engines, some still used coal but were being phased out by
oil burners.
Thinking about those days bring back memories of train
rides, such as waking up in the middle of the night, looking out the
coach window, seeing lights whizzing by when passing small towns south
of McGehee and guessing what town it was. Could it be Portland,
Parkdale, Wilmot, etc.? You would guess what town it was and try to
stay awake so you would get off at your station stop. Here is a familar
station to MP rail travelers, a picture of MP Union Station in Pine Bluff.
The passenger train conductors were efficient and courteous, but
sometimes forgot to alert you if you were asleep that your station stop
was just ahead. Riding a train during the night and seeing the morning
sun come up or the white face of snow on the ground when arriving in St
Louis or Little Rock from further south was an exciting experience for
one who was not used to the changing scenery. It was easy to slumber
away because for some the clickety clack of the rails had a sleep
inducing cadence. Rail joints making the noise were close together then
but now days are as much as miles apart. Ticket fares for short
distances of 15 to 25 miles were about 25 cents.
Experienced
rail travelers could always tell where they were if it was during the
day and they could see the railroad telephone lines with poles evenly
spaced. In Arkansas and Louisiana it was common to have thirty poles to
the mile. Each mile, a pole was marked with a number such as 375 which
meant that the marked location was 375 miles from St Louis. Mile pole
375 plus 10 poles was marked with a circled band to indicate that pole
was 10 poles from the mile pole, 20 poles from the MP had two circled
bands around the pole. The next pole would be MP 376. Train orders
which had speed restrictions identified the places to slow down by the
MP numbers.
The trains were equipped with a diner that seated
approximately 40 people but were crowded and you could never get in to
eat without a long long wait and then not make it. However, a train
porter would pass through the cars selling sandwiches, especially ham
and cheese sandwiches, along with small bottles of milk. Most of the
time he would run out just before he reached you. It would be some time
before he returned with a new supply. It was a big treat for a country
boy to get a ham sandwich on the train. They also sold candy such as
Hershey bars, Baby Ruths and one that was my favorite, called a "Denver
Sandwich" made of chocolate and wafers (have not seen one of those in
years).
During WWll, troop trains with military personel only,
were a daily event on many parts of the railroads. When they stopped to
meet other trains in some of the small southern towns, students from
the local high schools or the town people would go over to the train
and talk with the soldiers or sailors, often exchanging mailing
addresses. Many romances were started between high school girls and
members of the military.