Steam & Excursion > UP 8444 in Marlin,Tx

Jan 85
8444 is northbound on the UP (ex-MP SP H&TC) passing the nice brick station in Marlin.
The engine was headed back to Wyoming after being displayed at the New Orleans World Fair.  
I knew the light was going to be bad here but I was determined to get a shot passing this station.
My dad was raised near Marlin and still had a few relatives in town and had passed the station many times as a kid on visits from the north.
This was on the Waco-Bremond Houston & Texas Central ex-SP branch.
When the SP abandoned the line in 1965 the Missouri Pacific bought and rebuilt the Marlin-Waco portion.
MP removed the agent out of the station about 9 years before.
During this time the city of Marlin was negotiating with the UP to get the station for a museum.
The UP said they would fix that situation and literally brought a crew in overnight and tore down the building.

In the third shot the Falls Hotel can be seen.
Built in 1929 by Conrad Hilton, it had tunnels connecting it to the old bath house across the street.
Marlin was known for its curative waters after a hot artesian spring was discovered in the late 1890's. A few major league teams in the teens and 20's held spring training here because of the waters.
Missouri Pacific business car 8 was on the rear.

Here are a few detailed shots of the station in 1976 -----------------

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,4526261,4526261#msg-4526261


Gary

 

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Great group of pictures.  Lots of human interest here - with the folks coming out to watch.  And the little girl closest to the tracks holding her ears - timeless.

Sorry to learn the fate of the depot. 

Rich

I followed that train from Marlin to Ft Worth.  A lot of cars did it too. Took about 40 miles of video on tape.  Don't know what happened to it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/27/22 08:53 by tomstp.

This would have been in April of 1984.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

UP has a thing for old depots, round houses, freight depots , coal towers, etc. They love to tear them down ASAP.

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Bob3985 Wrote:
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> This would have been in April of 1984.

Ha! This would have been the first time I saw 844 in operation. Anyone want to hear the story (again) of UP 844 vs. a  pretty fast "79 Peterbilt 352H, and how I won the race?

Cheers, Dave

This was the train headed back to Wyoming after the Worlds Fair closed in Nov 1984.
Gary

I recall that fun day chasing the UP 8444 in the Bryan , TX area northward with my friend Bob . Drove my 1976 Buick Le Sabre hard that day. 
Thanks for sharing these slides, Gary. Nice to see one of those pretty white MP depots again from my youth in Texas. 

Nice pics, I bet that little girl still remembers that moment, I for one sitll do on 4449's trip to New Olreans!