The Men in the Shops

Not all of praise is due the men
Who operate the trains,
Whose deeds are told by tongue and pen,
Or sung in deathless strains;
They do not all of railroads make,
Nor all the credit share,
Since there are other men who take
A part in what they dare.

The crews that ride the countless trains,
Like actors on a stage,
Inhibit visible domains,
And all our thoughts engage;
They proudly stalk through every scene,
And evermore appear
Heroic, dominant, serene,
And void of all sense of fear.

But there are men---grim, toiling men---
In myriad numbers told,
Who serve through days and nights again,
Whom seldom we behold;
Like stage hands hid behind the scenes,
They delve among props,
The endless tools and big machines
Inside the railroad shops.

To them most certainly is due
A share of all the praise,
The shopmen who their tasks pursue
Through busy nights and days;
For, lo, their’s is the labor skilled,
The art of hands and brain,
To plan, inspect, repair, and build
The parts of every train.

Published in the December 1, 1929 issue of the Mississippi Central Round Table. I came upon this whilst researching company records for my forthcoming book on Mississippi Central/Wilmington and Western engine No. 98.