Duncan and all, The coach that you all are talking about, I believe
was used until 1963 when it was involved in a rear end collision with
the Gravel Train that ran north out of Hannibal. Every spring and
summer the Gravel Train would go on to accommodate the extra demand
for gravel out of the LaGrange, Mo. gravel pits which the Missouri
Highway Dept. needed when their new roads were being built. Some
times the Gravel Train would deliver some cars to Keokuk and then
turn back to Hannibal. On this particular day the agent at
Alexandria, Mo, which was the junction of the Centerville line and
the K line, let the Centerville crew out onto the K line without
being aware of the Gravel Train's close location. The crew on the
Centerville local had just lined the main line switch back when the
Gravel Train popped around the curve. Since they hadn't picked up
any speed yet, the Gravel Train ran into the rear of the Combination
coach. No one was hurt as I recall the old timers telling, but
several were pulled out of service as a result of the investigation
that followed. One was my good friend Walter Kincaide who was the
agent at Alexandria. He was off a couple of months I believe. He is
still living at Wayland, Mo. and as a side note, he built his house
out of the lumber from the old Alexandria depot that he helped tear
down. But back to the coach. It must have been damaged enough to
scrap because I bought the old coal burning stove that came out of it
from an old timer that worked on the Hannibal Rip Track. When I
cleaned out the stove there was a 1963 Burlinton timetable in it
along with some old flimsies from 1963 and a well worn deck of
playing cards. Another reason I remember it was in 1963 was the head
brakeman on the Gravel Train was Raymond Whithouse who was on his
first trip. Ray was the last protected brakeman on the Hannibal
Division because they dovetailed seniority between the road and yard
crews in 1963. As for the coach that served as the Keokuk
yardoffice, I was in it many times and I believe it was a very old
one. I'll check with some of the boys at Keokuk and try to round up
a picture. I recall when they tore it down, that at each end of the
coach in the area where the ceiling was arched, the bulkhead
had "Burlington" in gold leaf paint on a very fine grade of Mahogony
or Walnut wood. Sorry for being so long winded but thought Duncan
would like to hear some of this.
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