Valley Eagle

The Valley Eagle was a named streamliner passenger train of the Missouri Pacific Railroad that began in 1948. It ran from Houston, Texas's Union Station to Brownsville, Texas at the Mexico–United States border and a second section to Corpus Christi. It first carried the numbers #11 south and #12 northbound and in later years carried the number of #321 south and #322 heading north.^[1]

Valley Eagle

Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Status	Discontinued
Locale	Southwestern United States
First service	1948
Last service	1962
Former operator(s)	Missouri Pacific Railroad
Route
Termini	Houston, Texas Brownsville, Texas second section to Corpus Christi, Texas
Distance travelled	371 miles (597 km) (Houston-Brownsville)
Average journey time	Southbound: 8 hrs 55 min Northbound: 8 hrs 25 min (1960)
Service frequency	Daily (1948–1962)
Train number(s)	Southbound: 321 Northbound: 322 (1960)
On-board services
Seating arrangements	Reclining seat coach
Technical
Rolling stock	Streamlined passenger cars
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)

It made coordinated connections in Houston with trains from St. Louis (Texas Eagle #21/22), from Memphis (#201/202) and from New Orleans (Houstonian #309/310). The Valley Eagle had its final run in 1962.^[2]

Night train counterpart

The Missouri Pacific Railroad also operated the Pioneer, a night train counterpart that outlasted the Valley Eagle.^[3] After the Pioneer lost its sleeping car and its name, it continued to 1965 or 1966 as an unnamed night train on the route.^[4]

External links

• Photo of the Valley Eagle departing Houston Union Station, 1953