This image is the cover for the book Murder & Mayhem on the Texas Rails, Murder & Mayhem

Murder & Mayhem on the Texas Rails, Murder & Mayhem

Texas has a long, romantic history when it comes to railroads. But even though steam engines and streetcars offer nonstop service to Nostalgia City, there's a dark side to Texas rail. The Black Widow of Fort Worth engineered a fatal double-cross at a railroad crossing. The Mountaineer Madman brought death to the Texas Electric Railway, while the Trolley Bandit terrorized the citizens of El Paso. From a freak accident involving a banana peel to a tragic trip to see Santa Claus, Jeff Campbell and the staff of the Interurban Railway Museum cross the Lone Star State on trains derailed by murder and mayhem.

Jeff Campbell,

Jeff Campbell is director of the Plano Conservancy for Historic Preservation. He writes about Plano history for Plano Magazine and also coauthored Football and Integration in Plano, Texas: Stay in there, Wildcats! (The History Press, 2014), Plano's Historic Cemeteries (Arcadia Publishing, 2014), Hidden History of Plano (The History Press, 2020) and Texas Bluegrass History (The History Press, 2021). Jeff has worked on historic preservation projects in Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico. He serves on the board of the Texas Chapter of the Association of Gravestone Studies and on the advisory board of Texas Dance Hall Preservation and is a chapter representative for the Forest Fire Lookout Association. In 2019, he received a Preservation Texas Award for his work at Historic Davis Cemetery. Since 2001, the Plano Conservancy for Historic Preservation has managed the Interurban Railway Museum in Historic Downtown Plano, Texas. The Plano Conservancy also works to preserve Plano's historic cemeteries and produce exhibits, books, wayside signs and events such as Hike Through History and an annual Archaeology Fair.

The History Press