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Legacy of a Railroad Man
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Author:  Jason Midyette [ Fri Mar 28, 2025 3:15 pm ]
Post subject:  Legacy of a Railroad Man
At an online auction in Kansas City recently, I ended up with an insane amount of items from the estate of Donald G. Campbell, who worked for the Kansas City Southern from 1940 to 1984. Mr. Campbell worked in the Signal Department and ended up at the KCS main offices in Kansas City. He was apparently in a position to save many items that were being disposed of over the years from the files. Lots of interesting stuff.

This item caught my eye and I thought it was interesting enough to share here, it is the story of some souvenirs carried by a railroad man for nearly 50 years. As his wife neared the end of her years, she felt she needed to find a good home for them and some years later, Mr. Campbell saved them again. Now my children will get to figure out what to do with them sometime in the future.

Jason Midyette

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Author:  Jeff Terry [ Sat Mar 29, 2025 11:39 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Legacy of a Railroad Man
This is almost spooky. Yesterday I found a manuscript in the KCS files written by Mr. Campbell, a short history of the Splitlog Railroad that was later incorporated into the Kansas City, Pittsburg & Gulf (which became KCS in 1900). I spent some time searching for info on Campbell but came up empty. I didn't even know he was a former KCS employee! Your info on him is much appreciated.

Right now I'm sorting through the material that KCS saved, which honestly isn't much. I have yet to find any paper items like these, and I have to wonder when the decision was made get rid of all of the paper artifacts, because it is clear that some had been set aside (thankfully Mr. Campbell stepped in to save some of it). Much of what we do have was acquired from other collectors during the Mike Haverty era.

As part of CPKC's renovation of the Cathedral Square building in downtown Kansas City (formerly KCS headquarters - now CPKC's US Headquarters) we now have an archives room to properly catalog and store what we have, which is mostly artifacts like timetables, silverware, china, and small trinkets. I did find large number of medium format B&W negatives dating from the 1940s and 1950s that I've been working to scan. I've spent the past year just trying to locate all of it, as it has been stored in a number of different locations.

Thank you again for sharing this neat piece of KCS history.

Jeff Terry
CPKC Manager Heritage Services & Operations - US
Author:  Jason Midyette [ Thu Apr 03, 2025 12:08 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Legacy of a Railroad Man
For what it is worth, here is what I have been able to find out about Mr. Campbell;

Born July 11, 1919, Neosho MO, died August 2, 2008, Kansas City

He married his wife, Billie Jean Campbel in 1943. She was born in Joplin, MO in 1921 and died in 2010 in Kansas City

They moved to Kansas City in 1950, which is when I would guess Mr. Campbell started working at the main KCS offices. He started work for the KCS on November 26, 1940 in the Signal Department. His first work location was at the Cedar Grove Interlocker, south of Shreveport, Louisiana. (He took a photo of KCS 4-6-0 No. 606 leading a train past the semaphore there in January, 1941 and wrote a note about starting there on the back)
Author:  JimBoylan [ Thu Apr 10, 2025 8:37 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Legacy of a Railroad Man
On his Oct. 16, 1940 Draft Registration, he was working for the Frisco RR at the General Office in Springfield, Greene County, Missouri.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... AQLXY-SC3F

Also:
https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/pe ... s/L87R-XQC
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/119 ... g-campbell
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Campbell-72606

Through marriages, he's my 6th cousin, once removed. I may have talked with him while establishing a freight rate in the late 1980s. His father was a Railway Mail Clerk on the Missouri & Northern Arkansas RR.
Author:  Jason Midyette [ Fri Apr 11, 2025 9:23 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Legacy of a Railroad Man
JimBoylan wrote:
His father was a Railway Mail Clerk on the Missouri & Northern Arkansas RR.


Well, that explains where this came from!

Thanks for sharing the information.

Jason Midyette

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