Texas Eagle (Missouri Pacific)

2017-11-16T07:16:09Z

112.200.107.143: Infobox Extend

{{italic title}}
{{Infobox rail service
| box_width =
| name = ''Texas Eagle''
| logo =
| logo_width =
| image = Texas and Pacific Railway ticket.JPG
| image_width = 300px
| caption = A Texas and Pacific [[EMD E7]] leads an ''Eagle'' in this 1950s ticket cover.
| type = [[Inter-city rail]]
| status = Discontinued
| locale = [[Midwestern United States]]
| predecessor =
| first = August 15, 1948
| last = April 30, 1971
| successor =
| operator =
| formeroperator = [[Missouri Pacific Railroad]]<br />[[Texas and Pacific Railway]]
| ridership =
| ridership2 =
| website =
| start = [[St. Louis, Missouri]]
| stops = <nowiki/>
*45 (St. Louis - El Paso)
*37 (El Paso - St. Louis)
*18 (St. Louis - San Antonio)
*17 (San Antonio - St. Louis)
*23 (St. Louis - Galveston)
*21 (Galveston - St. Louis)
| end = [[El Paso, Texas]]<br>[[San Antonio, Texas]]<br>[[Galveston, Texas]]
| distance =
| journeytime = <nowiki/>
*29 hours 45 minutes (St. Louis - El Paso)
*30 hours 20 minutes (El Paso - St. Louis)
*18 hours 10 minutes (St. Louis - San Antonio)
*18 hours 31 minutes (St. Louis - Galveston)
*18 hours 20 minutes (Galveston - St. Louis)
| frequency = Daily
| trainnumber = <nowiki/>
*1 (St. Louis - El Paso)
*2 (El Paso - St. Louis)
*21-221-21 (St. Louis - San Antonio)
*22-222-22 (San Antonio - St. Louis)
*21-221-21-25 (St. Louis - Galveston)
*26-22-222-22 (Galveston - St. Louis)
| line_used =
| class =
| access =
| seating =
| sleeping =
| autorack =
| catering =
| observation =
| entertainment =
| baggage =
| otherfacilities =
| stock =
| gauge = {{RailGauge|ussg}}
| el =
| speed = <nowiki/>
*45.6 mph (St. Louis - El Paso)
*44.7 mph (El Paso - St. Louis)
*50.8 mph (St. Louis - San Antonio)
*46.7 mph (St. Louis - Galveston)
*47.2 mph (Galveston - St. Louis)
| owners = [[Missouri Pacific Railroad]]
| routenumber =
| map =
| map_state =
}}
The '''''Texas Eagle''''' was a [[streamliner|streamlined]] passenger train operated by the [[Missouri Pacific Railroad]] and the [[Texas and Pacific Railway]] between [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]], and multiple destinations in the state of [[Texas]]. It operated from 1948 to 1971. The ''Texas Eagle'' was one of many trains discontinued when [[Amtrak]] began operations in 1971, although Amtrak would revive service over the Missouri Pacific with the ''[[Inter-American (train)|Inter-American]]'' in 1974. This train was renamed the ''Eagle'' in 1981 and finally the ''[[Texas Eagle]]'' in 1988.

== History ==
[[File:Missouri Pacific Planetarium Dome 1961.JPG|thumb|350px|Planetarium Dome coaches were featured equipment on the ''Texas Eagle''.]]
The ''Texas Eagle'' began on August 15, 1948, with the renaming of the ''[[Sunshine Special]]''.<ref name="sanders" />{{rp|119}} For thirteen years, the ''Texas Eagle'' operated as two separate sections, leaving [[St. Louis]] in the late afternoon, one following behind the other at an approximately 10-minute interval. At [[Longview, Texas|Longview]], the routes diverged. The west Texas section continued to Dallas and El Paso, while the south Texas section split off cars for Houston and Galveston at Palestine, then operated to Austin and San Antonio, where a connection was made to the ''Aztec Eagle'' for [[Laredo, Texas]] and [[Mexico City]], operated by the [[Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México]]. In 1952, [[dome car]]s were added to the train. After 1961, the ''Texas Eagle'' was consolidated as a single, very long train, between [[St. Louis]] and [[Longview, Texas]], where the train was split into several sections, each serving different [[Texas]] cities. The west Texas section (the ''West Texas Eagle'') of the Texas Eagle continued from [[Longview, Texas|Longview]] to [[Dallas]], [[Fort Worth]], and [[El Paso, Texas|El Paso]]; the south Texas section (''South Texas Eagle'') served [[Palestine, Texas|Palestine]], [[Austin, Texas|Austin]], [[San Antonio]], and [[Laredo, Texas|Laredo]], with a through [[Pullman Company|Pullman]] continuing to [[Mexico City]]. A third section of the ''Texas Eagle'' split from the main train at [[Palestine, Texas|Palestine]], providing service to [[Houston]].<ref name="Schafer">{{Schafer-More-Classic|pages=87-88}}</ref>

From its inception in 1948 the ''Texas Eagle'' carried through sleepers from the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]]'s ''Penn Texas'', providing a one-seat ride from [[Washington, D.C.]] and [[New York City]] to [[Texas]]. Through sleeper service ended on June 30, 1961, but it was still possible to make a connection between the two trains in St. Louis.<ref name="welsh" />{{rp|134–135}}

The western section ended May 31, 1969, leaving a San Antonio-St. Louis service.<ref name="Schafer" /> The Missouri Pacific discontinued the remaining Texas intrastate segment of the ''Texas Eagle'' on September 22, 1970. The Missouri Pacific bypassed the [[Interstate Commerce Commission]] by arguing (to the [[Texas Railroad Commission]]) that the "Texas Eagle" was not an interstate train but rather three intrastate trains: one which ran San Antonio-[[Texarkana]], another which ran from Texarkana to the Missouri border, and a third which ran from the Missouri border to St. Louis. The Texas Railroad Commission accepted this argument and permitted the Missouri Pacific to end the Texas portion of the ''Texas Eagle''.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Waiting For The Train | journal=Texas Monthly |date=August 1974 | volume=2 | number=8 | first=Griffin | last=Smith | pages=79–83, 89–99}}; 91.</ref> The Texas Railroad Commission ruling was handed down less than a month before President Nixon signed Railpax legislation which placed a moratorium on passenger train discontinuances in anticipation of the start-up of Amtrak. The St. Louis-Texarkana truncation of the Texas Eagle continued running until the advent of [[Amtrak]] on May 1, 1971, when it was discontinued.<ref name="Schafer" />

== Sample consist ==
The December 1952 edition of the ''[[Official Guide of the Railways]]'' listed the following for a southbound ''Texas Eagle'':<ref>{{cite web | title=The Texas Eagle - December 1952 | accessdate=2010-08-07 | url=http://www.streamlinerschedules.com/concourse/track9/texeagle195212.html | work=Streamliner Schedules}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
!Type
!Seating
!Route
!Notes
|-
| colspan=4 | ''No. 1 : St. Louis—Fort Worth—El Paso''
|-
|Sleeper
|14 [[roomette]]s, 1 [[drawing room]], 2 double bedrooms
|St. Louis—Fort Worth
|
|-
|Sleeper
|14 roomettes, 4 double bedrooms
|New York—El Paso
|Conveyed New York—St. Louis by the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]]
|-
|Sleeper
|14 roomettes, 4 double bedrooms
|Washington—Fort Worth
|Conveyed Washington—St. Louis by the [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]]
|-
|Sleeper
|14 roomettes, 4 double bedrooms
|Memphis—Fort Worth
|Conveyed Memphis—Little Rock by No. 201
|-
|Sleeper
|Roomettes and bedrooms
|Dallas—Los Angeles
|Conveyed El Paso—Los Angeles by the [[Southern Pacific Railroad]]
|-
|Lounge
|5 bedrooms
|St. Louis—Fort Worth
|
|-
|Diner
|
|St. Louis—Fort Worth
|
|-
|Coach
|
|St. Louis—El Paso
|
|-
|Coach
|
|St. Louis—Fort Worth
|Planetarium dome
|-
|Coach
|
|Memphis—Fort Worth
|Conveyed Memphis—Little Rock by No. 201
|-
!Type
!Seating
!Route
!Notes
|-
| colspan=4 | ''No. 21 : St. Louis—Palestine—Houston/San Antonio''
|-
|Sleeper
|14 roomettes, 1 drawing room, 2 double bedrooms
|St. Louis—Galveston
|
|-
|Sleeper
|14 roomettes, 4 double bedrooms
|Memphis—Houston
|Conveyed Memphis—Little Rock by No. 201
|-
|Sleeper
|10 roomettes, 6 double bedrooms
|Washington—Houston
|Conveyed Washington—St. Louis by the Pennsylvania Railroad
|-
|Sleeper
|10 roomettes, 6 double bedrooms
|New York—Houston
|Conveyed New York—St. Louis by the Pennsylvania Railroad
|-
|Sleeper
|10 roomettes, 6 double bedrooms
|New York—San Antonio
|Conveyed New York—St. Louis by the Pennsylvania Railroad
|-
|Sleeper
|14 roomettes, 4 double bedrooms
|St. Louis—San Antonio
|
|-
|Sleeper
|14 roomettes, 4 double bedrooms
|St. Louis—San Antonio
|
|-
|Diner lounge
|
|St. Louis—Houston
|
|-
|Diner lounge
|
|St. Louis—San Antonio
|
|-
|Coach
|
|St. Louis—Houston
|
|-
|Coach
|
|St. Louis—Corpus Christi
|Conveyed Houston—Odem by No. 11; Odem—Corpus Christi by No. 205
|-
|Coach
|
|St. Louis—San Antonio
|Planetarium dome
|-
|Coach
|
|St. Louis—San Antonio
|
|-
|Coach
|
|St. Louis—San Antonio
|
|-
|Coach
|
|St. Louis—San Antonio
|
|-
|Coach
|
|Houston—Galveston
|
|-
!Type
!Seating
!Route
!Notes
|-
| colspan=4 | ''No. 201 : Memphis—Little Rock''
|-
|Sleeper
|14 roomettes, 4 double bedrooms
|Memphis—Fort Worth
|Conveyed Little Rock—Fort Worth by No. 1
|-
|Sleeper
|14 roomettes, 4 double bedrooms
|Memphis—Houston
|Conveyed Little Rock—Houston by No. 21
|-
|Coach
|
|Memphis—Little Rock
|
|-
|Coach
|
|Memphis—Fort Worth
|Conveyed Little Rock—Fort Worth by No. 1
|}

== See also ==
*''[[Texas Eagle]]'', a successor service operated by [[Amtrak]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="sanders">{{Sanders-Indiana}}</ref>
<ref name="welsh">{{Welsh-Broadway}}</ref>
}}

{{MP named trains}}

[[Category:Named passenger trains of the United States]]
[[Category:Passenger trains of the Missouri Pacific Railroad]]
[[Category:Passenger trains of the Texas and Pacific Railway]]
[[Category:Railway services introduced in 1948]]
[[Category:Railway services discontinued in 1971]]

Wikipedia - Benutzerbeiträge [de]

Texas Eagle (Missouri Pacific)