James Baughn was the webmaster of seMissourian.com and its sister newspapers for 20 years. On the side, he maintained even more sites, including Bridgehunter.com, LandmarkHunter.com, TheCapeRock.com, and Humorix. Baughn passed away in 2020 while doing one of the things he loved most: hiking in Southeast Missouri. Here is an archive of his writing about hiking and nature in our area.

Blog without words: Union Pacific 844 crosses the Mississippi River at Thebes

Posted Wednesday, March 28, 2012, at 11:14 AM

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I've always been fascinated by that bridge. Here's some photos I've taken of it over the years:

http://www.capecentralhigh.com/cape-photos/thebes-railroad-bridge/

Your timing of posting the shots of UP 844 was perfect. I was listening to Guy Clark singing "Texas, 1947," an account of seeing the first diesel highballing though a Texas small town.

He paints an interesting picture of the event:

"Trains are big and black and smokin' - steam screamin' at the wheels, bigger than anything they is, at least that's the way she feels."

"Look out here she comes, she's comin',

Look out there she goes, she's gone,

screamin' straight through Texas

like a mad dog cyclone.

"Big, red, and silver,

she don't make no smoke,

she's a fast-rollin' streamline

come to show the folks."

-- Posted by Ken1 on Wed, Mar 28, 2012, at 11:29 AM

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