My grandfather worked for the Missouri Pacific for 50 years from  1901 to 1951. His name was Alvia Smith and they called him BAD Alvia! Started out in the NLR yards and then worked on the local between Cushman Ar and Batesville.  For 32 years he was a passenger conductor on the White River division. They lived in Batesville most of the time starting in 1921, but also lived in Joplin and Cotter. the house they built in Batesville stayed in the family for 90 years til recently.  I worked most of my life in transportation and logistics -- the interest for me goes back to the early 50's and has never left!!