Motive power thru Happy was huge, double-coupled Mallet engines. Steam cylinders on these lumbering giants extended out from the drive wheels, making it hazardous for an operator handing up order on a short handled wooden hoop.

This necessitated standing very close as the train roared by. Add to this a flickering oil lantern that often was extinguished by the blast of air from the passing train, and the operator's predicament was anything but pleasant.

On one occasion this writer was dozing one morning about 2:00 o'clock when a sudden blast aroused him. A freight train was bearing down, calling for a signal. Grabbing the hoops that held the train orders, the operator dashed out to up the orders. Unbeknowing to him, a freezing mist had been falling and the depot platform had a glaze similar to that of a skating rink. Both feet shot out and a sickening slide towards the tracks ensued. The lantern flew skyward as the

operator went downward. As the engine roared by, the engineer could be seen leaning far out peering down to see if he had sheared off a couple of feet. In fact, the operator looked to see if the same thing hadn't happened.

In the early days of railroading union strength was almost non-existent, bosses were hard boiled and could fire an operator for sleeping on the job. As a result elaborate and ingenious signals were set up between operators at different stations if an official was on the prowl. A certain tap on the wire from an operator down the line was sufficient warning, or if an official was riding the caboose, the engineer would scratch his chin, "Whiskers riding today."

For many years four passenger trains a day stopped at Happy. Two in each direction. And not all the passengers rode on the plush seats. The blinds, the rods beneath the cars, and strapped to vent pipes atop the cars, provided a place for broke laborers to move from Texas cotton fields