He was born sometime before the big war when dust seemed to be everywhere he went. He was proud to follow behind the big leader who seemed to like his habit of smoking. Emmett didn’t mind.
With each stop, they’d drop off and pick up people going to so many different places. He hated to admit it, but he loved listening in on their tales. Some of them were heading off to the big war while others were going away to big schools in big cities.
There were many stories. Some of them were happy, like the couples on their honeymoons or the children on their first trip on a train. Emmett wanted to laugh with them, but he couldn’t laugh.
And some of the stories were sad and made Emmett want to cry along with them, but, alas, train cars don’t shed tears either.
Emmett worked long hours and never seemed to stop. But he didn’t mind. He knew he had a job to do and he was going to do the best job he could.
The History
The photos included in this story come from two different train cars, the Laramie and the Emmett Kelly. The cars were produced in the 1930s or 40s and originally sold to WYCO. These cars are now out of service and located near the Verde Canyon Railroad in Clarkdale, AZ.