The Marshall, Elysian Fields and Southeastern Railway (1922-1945)
On July 10, 1918, the Federal Court ordered the abandonment of the line southeast to Elysian Fields. It remained dormant until 1920. It was offered for sale in six segments. Citizens of Marshall purchased seventeen miles to Elysian Fields hoping to sell it to some other railroad for Marshall. It was capitalized at $30,000, and was charted as the Marshall, Elysian Fields and Southeastern. It was headed by president Marvin Turney, vice president James B. Furrh, and treasurer W. L. Lacy.
The Texas and Pacific bought two miles of track and the terminals at Marshall. The Winnsboro and Gilmer Railroad was organized to acquire the northern (western) segment, but was not able to finance it. It’s charter was forfeited in 1923.
On August 18, 1922, Mr. James Madison Furrh purchased the railroad, from Marshall to Elysian Fields. He owned a cotton gin and general store in Elysian Fields and needed it for transportation for his goods. On August 28, 1922, a charter was obtained for the road as the Marshall, Elysian Fields and Southeastern.
Mr. J. M. Furrh was principal stockholder, J. D. Furrh was president, and W. K. Furrh was vice president and general manager.
During the dormant period, the road had become so run down that it was not safe for heavy steam engines. Surplus four-wheel drive Army trucks left over from World War l were purchased for motive power. They were equipped with flanged wheels and pulled several small flat cars for delivery. They used one ton trucks to haul mail and L.C.L. (less than a carload) freight. These tracks were also used for the track and bridge crews.
In 1928, the Marshall, Elysian Fields and Southeastern was being taxed to the capacity with what motive power it had. In the early thirties there was a prospect of a pipeline coming through. A twelve ton gasoline powered Whitcomb locomotive was purchased from the Karo-Northern at Mt. Enterprise. This was my father’s engine. He named it “Old Blue” and painted that name on the front of the engine.
Elysian Fields was the focal point of a large cotton growing area. With prevailing freight rates cotton, seed, fertilizer, and feed made up a very good business. That created enough confidence to bring about some substantial improvements.
New piles were driven in thirty-one bridges ranging in length from one span of fourteen feet up to more than six hundred feet. It raised the maximum weight for car loads from 35,000 pounds net to 70,000 pounds net. Anything over that was embargoed. Cars shipped to Elysian Fields were unloaded at Marshall and the contents were distributed on flat cars for delivery.
My father writes in his memoirs, “In 1928, I was put in the Mechanical Department of the Marshall, Elysian Fields and Southeastern Railway Company. From the first day I was on the job, I could tell I was in for a pretty rough time. The engines were being burned out by overworking them. They were designed to run four miles per hour loaded or six miles empty. They were being forced to run from nine to twelve loaded.
I wanted to make some changes but Superintendent Morris had his own notion about running the business. It was my duty to try to please him, but I managed to make a few changes where they were not noticeable.
When Morris left the job, R.H. Westmoreland became the new superintendent. As he had known me for a long time, he gave me a free hand to do the work as I saw fit. This not only gave me a chance to increase the efficiency by keeping the engines on the road instead of in the shops, but it left me with a little time to relax.
Sometimes I would take one of the trucks out and inspect the bridges and report any weak places that might cause some trouble. That worked so well, the company bought me a new Sheffield 41 motor car light enough for one man to handle.
Westmoreland was transferred from the Marshall office to Elysian Fields where he could work in the J.M. Furrh store was not busy with the company business. I was given responsibilities of the Marshall office. It was a foregone conclusion that I had enough work to keep me busy, but the way we had everything scheduled, the repair business had been reduced to near zero. I had more time to spend with my feet on or under a desk than looking through a maze of greasy machinery with oil dripping on my face.
I arranged my schedule so that I could open the office at about 6:45 a.m., catch the morning mail and the L.C.L. freight, post up the train and work cards or other office work. I would get my engine ready for the next trip and go to the yards and make up the train at 11 a.m. as that was the regular time for the T.&P. switch engine to deliver cars to the interchange.
If nothing happened to cause delay, I would make the trip and be back in time to catch the evening mail about 4:30 p.m. Our pay days were on the first and fifteenth of each month. I would sometimes get behind with my work as I had to keep up with the billing and exchange with the T.&P., sign shipping orders, order cars when needed, write checks, make out time sheets and voucher lists, order gasoline for the machines, and make reports to the auditor once a month.
When crowded with work I would often take the books home with me and catch up at night. Before I started running the engines, persons that live along the road would often ride the trains to town but when I was put in charge, we stopped that because the road was responsible for their safety.”
Elysian Fields had a cannery. Farmers along the way would put their tomatoes on a flat car and they would be taken to Elysian Fields, canned and returned to the people to whom they belonged. They would mark the boxes with their names.
My father remembered one run he made to Elysian Fields while engineer on this railroad. It had snowed heavily the night before and was almost impossible to move the train down the tracks. Elysian Fields was snowed in and mail and grocery supplies had to be delivered to Furrh’s store.
He took his sons with him. They would shovel several feet of track, get back on the engine, and take the train that far. My father and my brother would get out and shovel more snow off the track. It took them all day to get to Elysian Fields. It was much faster coming home. It didn’t take long to cover the seventeen and a half miles back to Marshall.
Every Sunday morning at four a.m., my father would deliver the Marshall News Messenger to Furrh’s store. The people of Elysian Fields would be able to have their morning paper about the same time breakfast was being served. This was a favorite memory of my cousin who always went with my father on Sunday morning. She loved to climb up in the cab and pull the cord to blow the whistle.
I was afraid of the loud monstrosity and would keep my distance until the train had passed.
Furrh’s General Store carried a supply of groceries and merchandise that could be found in country stores everywhere. Large containers of rice, sugar, beans, and crackers were on display on counter tops. Bolts of cloth, thread, and hosiery were important items to the ladies who came to shop at the store. Men could shop for rope, horse shoes, and wagon wheels.
During the 30’s when the nation's economy was getting in bad shape, the government cut cotton acreage to nearly half, hurting the railroad. To add insult to injury, the I.C.C. cut freight rates to where instead of the usual one dollar and twenty-five cents per bale for hauling cotton, only fifty-eight cents were allowed. A few pipe lines crossed the road on their way from the Longview-Kilgore area to Shreveport. For each of the pipe lines, the road hauled approximately twelve miles of eight inch pipe. The big job came when a hard surfaced highway was constructed from Carthage to Greenwood through DeBerry.
It was too big a job for the available motive power. A thirty-five ton 2-6-2 1893 model Baldwin steam locomotive was purchased from the Louisiana Long Leaf Lumber Co. from Fisher, Louisiana.
It didn’t carry the L.L.L. Co. lettering for long for as soon as my father had the chance and the engine was idle, he painted it out and put the M.E.F.&S.E. lettering on it in orange color.
When that job was completed, the road had little else to do. The steam engine was set aside and only the lighter equipment was used to carry mail and local merchandise.
The last thin thread that held things together was broken when Highway 31 was constructed from Marshall to Elysian Fields. The road equipment was sold for scrap. The heavy equipment was cut up except the 12 ton Whitcomb which was loaded on a heavy trailer to be hauled off to be used on other salvage jobs.
In September 1939, my father blew the last whistle on the last remnant of the old M.&E.T. still in existence. He writes, “The old steam locomotive is gone. We no longer hear the piercing sound of the wildcat whistle and the pleasing tone of the three cell chime. We no longer hear the melodious harmony of a shiny pipe whistle that puts a perfect musical chord on a young man’s desires and an old man’s dreams. This is like time gone by. It is gone forever and lives only in the memory of the tribe of men that have experienced the thrill that went along with the steam age.”
Eleanor R. (Wells) Briggs
Copyright February 4, 1994
