Rushing eastward across the Chihuahuan Desert near Van Horn, Texas, May 13, 1973, Missouri Pacific GP35 615 is 120 miles out of El Paso and still some 350 miles from its Fort Worth terminal. Technically these are Texas, & Pacific rails, laid down in 1881, and will remain so until 1976 when T&P will be fully absorbed by MP. Proudly wearing the Screaming Eagle logo, 1964-built 615 will be wrecked in six months when vandals throw a switch ahead of its train at Cotulla, Tx., diverting it into an occupied siding, resulting in the death of the engineer, head brakeman and an engineer-trainee.
