Morris, C Lee 1975, 1981
C. Lee Morris, assistant to the President of the Fort Worth and Denver Railway, discusses the operations of the railroad and the records now being stored. He reminisces about his family and R. Wright Armstrong and discusses the changing railroad industry.
General Interview Information
Interviewee Name: C. Lee Morris
Additional Parties Recorded: None
Date: October 25, 1975; April 22, 1981
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Interviewer: Fred Carpenter, Richard Mason
Length: 2 hour 25 minutes
Abstract
Tape 1, Side 1: Tape recordings owned by Mr. Morris,
Radio commercial for the Fort Worth and Denver Railway Company played,
Information about the production and broadcasting of the commercial,
Brief account of Morris’s career with the railroad,
Recalls his association with R. Wright Armstrong,
Content of the FW&D records stored in the Fort Worth warehouse,
Records dating prior to 1898 destroyed by fire,
Fort Worth & Denver Railway Co. incorporated in 1873,
First track laid in 1881,
No land granted by the state of Texas,
Various ways of obtaining right-of-way described,
Content of the FW&D records stored in the Fort Worth warehouse (again),
Physical description of the storage facilities,
Discusses future removal of records from the warehouse,
History of the Trinity and Brazos Valley Railroad,
Financial difficulties explained,
Reorganization as the Burlington-Rock Island,
Railroad Company,
Formation of the Joint Texas Division Route and railroads of the Joint Texas Division,
Transfers of operational control,
Trackage rights at the Galveston terminal listed,
FW&D operation limited to Texas,
Majority of stock of FW&D owned by Colorado and Southern Railroad,
The Burlington Northern merger,
Names four railroads involved,
FW&D became a subsidiary,
Discusses books written about the Fort Worth & Denver,
Colonel Morgan Jones by Vernon Spence,
Books by Dick Overton,
Hal Wagner, author of National Railway Historical,
Society publication,
Possibility of old timetables in the FW&D records,
Traces early routes of the railroad,
Vernon Spence’s research on Colonel Morgan Jones praised.
Tape 1, Side 2: Blank
Tape 2, Side 1: R. Wright Armstrong,
Speeches,
Mary Elizabeth "Mollie" Wright, mother,
Minstrel show,
Congressmen,
Texas Tech,
Railroad business,
Business dealings,
"Dr. Mollie," mother,
Railroad industry,
Sales department,
Train performance,
Fort Worth and Denver Railway,
Financing,
Subsidiaries,
Bank interest rates,
Capital investments,
Inflation,
Depression.
Tape 2, Side 2: Fort Worth and Denver Railway,
Great Depression,
Solvency,
Employee layoffs,
Emergency benefit fund (1931),
Politics,
Fort Worth and Denver Railway,
Passenger trains,
"Traffic tips" contest,
Employment (1927-1975),
Pension plan,
Fuels,
Changes,
Dieselization program,
Steam engines,
Dieselization,
Dining car food,
Fuels,
Trucking industry,
Competition (late 1920s),
Load limit laws,
"LCL" freight,
Oil discovery,
Effect on railroad,
Refineries,
Railroad lines,
Born: Mobeetie, Texas,
Family history,
Grandfather,
Civil War soldier,
To Texas (1880s),
Ranching,
Wheeler County, Texas (1894),
Father.
Tape 3, Side 1: William Penn Morris, father,
Ranching (1894),
Wheeler County, Texas,
Snake anecdote,
Ben Kilgore, sheriff,
Parents,
First meeting,
Marriage,
To Childress, Texas (1898-1902),
Livery stable,
Fort Worth & Denver shops,
To Mississippi (1903),
Construction work,
To Sierra Blanca, Texas (1906),
Typhoid,
C. Lee Morris,
Born (June 18, 1910),
Grubbs Vocational College,
Childhood chores,
Daisy churns,
Fort Worth and Denver Railway,
Interest in trains,
Application for job,
Starting salary,
Prices (1928),
Model A (1931),
Employee railroad passes,
Fort Worth and Denver Railway,
Department consolidation,
Secretarial duties,
Missouri Pacific Railroad,
Survey.
Tape 3, Side 2: Missouri Pacific Railroad (continued),
Survey (continued),
Fort Worth and Denver Railway,
General managers,
Presidents,
Anecdotes,
Wash-outs,
Wyatt Hendrick, architect,
Depots designed,
South Plains line,
Clifford B. Jones,
Father,
Wildcatter,
Profits,
Anecdote,
Slaughter Pool oil field,
Pecos, Texas,
Canals,
Land,
Cantaloupes,
Railroad industry,
Anecdote,
Future,
Mergers,
"M day".
Range Dates: 1873-1981
Bulk Dates: 1894-1975
Access Information
Original Recording Format:
Recording Format Notes:
Transcript:
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