Carrollton Festival at the Switchyard

The way the story goes, Roy was born in 1889. That year saw: North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington achieve statehood; Mark Twain’s novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court published; and Thomas Edison’s first motion picture show. But it was the fact that Mercury and Venus make their trip around the sun that year in perfect synchronization — an event that occurs only once every couple hundred years — some say, made Roy special.

No one can say who Roy’s parents were. According to lore he came West on one of the New York Children’s Aid Society “orphan trains.” That would have made Roy one of more than a thousand orphans who found homes in Texas of the 100,000 or so sent out West to find homes.

Hezekiah Gray, conductor of a train carrying orphans West, saw something special in the boy we know now as Railroad Roy. Every time he walked past Roy’s seat on the train he felt an irresistible tug on his heartstrings. Hez’s wife Winnie also worked on the train and the two asked the Society folks if they could raise Roy as their own. That’s how Roy grew up riding the rails.

M-K-T (Missouri — Kansas — Texas) engine No. 2 — the “Texas Special” — was Roy’s home. Hez and Winnie were his Ma and Pa. Later in life, asked about brothers or sisters, with a twinkle in his eye he’d say: “got a brother named Tex and a sister named Katy. Not true, of course, but all familiar with the railroad knew “Tex” was the nickname for the Texas Special and “Katy” for the M-K-T line.

Always big for his age — Roy was better than 6 foot at age 12 — and grew to a full adult height of 6’7” by age 17. But his stature ultimately had more to do with the kind of man he was than his size. His reputation as a fearless and selfless hero, who put the welfare of others above his own, is as impressive as the exploits that became the stuff of legend.

Hezekiah Gray, an educated man himself, made sure Roy learned his reading, writing, and arithmetic. Hezekiah had the boy spend time in town studying in Carrollton’s one-room schoolhouse. Some say Roy loved learning so much, he fell asleep every night with his nose firmly stuck in a book.

Hezekiah was particularly impressed with the school, and because the Special often spent time at the switchyard for repairs, decided it was a good choice for Roy’s schooling. Roy made many friends in Carrollton. In fact, folks say it became the one place on earth with neither wheel, nor steam, nor whistle he ever called home.