Part Time Gypsy Souls

My stories almost always start the same… “Melissa and I were…” And this one is no different. 🙂

Melissa and I were on a typical monthly trip to Mansfield, LA in August 2023. We were driving along, and I heard… “Was that a… TRAIN?” I’m sure you can imagine the incredulity in her voice.

Me: “Was what a train?”

Melissa: “There was a train… right beside the road, just back there. (Hesitant) Do you think we could…”

Me: (already in the left turn lane to make the U-turn at the light)

And just like that, we found the full-size Engine No. 13 in the small town of Diboll, TX, in a parking lot behind a building labeled “The History Center”. Well, if you know us at all, you know we couldn’t resist THAT!!

The History Center is amazing. I can’t find the words. It’s a small building, packed with exactly what the name implies. A full, vibrant, and rich history of East Texas. From their website (the link is in the name):

The His­to­ry Cen­ter col­lects, pre­serves, and makes avail­able the his­to­ry of our region and its peo­ple for the edu­ca­tion­al use and ben­e­fit of present and future gen­er­a­tions. Geo­graph­i­cal­ly, this area includes but is not lim­it­ed to Angeli­na and the imme­di­ate sur­round­ing East Texas coun­ties. This region­al des­ig­na­tion includes an inter­est in the nat­ur­al and social his­to­ry of the area, the East Texas lum­ber indus­try, and the records of region­al fam­i­lies, orga­ni­za­tions, busi­ness­es, and governments.

The His­to­ry Cen­ter is free to the pub­lic and invites researchers and as well as the gen­er­al­ly curi­ous to enjoy our edu­ca­tion­al offer­ings both onsite and online. In con­nec­tion with our research col­lec­tions, we offer indoor and out­door inter­pre­tive exhibits and we invite school and oth­er groups to con­tact us for guid­ed tour information.

Seriously, my photos don’t do it justice. And check out their online collections, and the Oral History tab!! Seriously, click on a name, and you can read a brief bio, then listen to an interview about the history that they’re discussing. And if you can’t listen, transcripts are available at the click of a button as well.

So, back to our day… once we completed our walkthrough of the interior, it was time to brave the great outdoors. Seriously, it was August in northern East Texas. It was HOT – like solid triple digits hot. And there we found our Engine No. 13. The engine is parked under a carport, and it is open to walk through.

Once in the engine, you KNOW I had to pull the horn!! I couldn’t help myself!! It’s here on my Facebook page, because I don’t seem to be able to load the video here.

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We’ll see if that works. (Shrug)

Next, there was a train car. The type you would work, relax, and sleep in as the train moves along. That’s way too many photos to upload here, so here are just a couple of them. But there were seating areas, sleeping bunks, a full sized desk, and wash area!

Then behind that was another smaller car, a maintenance rail car, maybe? You could sit in it as well, and check out all the levers and handles.

So then OF COURSE, we had to stop at the gift shop and purchase a few things. My boys may be nearly grown, but I had to get them some train whistles, and for the hubby, a diecast rail car that’s also a pencil sharpener! We dropped a few dollars in the donations box on the way out, and then we were back on the road again… a little more knowledgeable about history, and we got to pull a train horn!

Have you ever run across something like this in your travels? Have you been to the website yet? Seriously, you NEED to check it out!!

Stay tuned for more Part Time Gypsy Souls adventures!