This is the story of a Texan. This is a TEXAS story. We spell it big here because it is a big story. A big story about a man from TEXAS. A story about a man who as a young boy saw what he wanted to do, set out to do it and accomplished his lifes ambition. The mans name was Cecil Standefer. The events in this book primarily happened in Texas between 1898 and 1981. He struggled some; had some personal losses and he overcame them. He grew up in a time when the United States of America grew to be recognized as a world power. His part in all that was that of a railroad employee. And not just any employee as Cecil Standefer was in engine service. He was in engine service for the St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company and he was in this service for 50 years. Cecil Standefer wanted to become a locomotive engineer from the very first time he ever saw a train. He achieved his lifes ambition by becoming a Cotton Belt Engineer.

Transportation facilities and traffic play a very large part in the life of any modern people, and the study of this theme of development, along with many others, is an essential for thorough historical knowledge and understanding....(from the preface).