Last Stop: Tales of the Texas Rangers (August 10, 1952)

“Last Stop” is an episode of Tales of the Texas Rangers, the old-time radio show, first broadcast August 10, 1952. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

A passenger train derails in West Texas in July 1931, injuring many. Ranger Jason Pearson investigates and discovers evidence that someone deliberately placed a railroad tie on the tracks to cause the wreck. The investigation turns to a local man who lives alone, tends goats, and harbors a strong hatred for trains after one killed his cow.

West Texas, near Ravenna, in July 1931. A derailed passenger train and the surrounding railroad tracks.

Characters: Ranger Jason Pearson, Sheriff Wagner, Mr. Morton, A young man who yells at trains

Listen for: The ranger's methodical investigation of the wreck scene, the discovery of the deliberate sabotage, and the chase after a suspicious suspect.

Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.