Troop Train: Tales of the Texas Rangers (April 6, 1952)

“Troop Train” is an episode of Tales of the Texas Rangers, the old-time radio show, first broadcast April 6, 1952. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Two soldiers desert from a troop train in the Texas darkness. One wants to see his sick mother, the other has other plans. When a rancher is brutally beaten while his car is being stolen, Texas Rangers must track down the escaped soldiers before they disappear into the landscape.

East of Humboldt, Texas and surrounding areas in 1952; a troop train, Mather's ranch, and the town of Pinker

Characters: Ranger Jason Pearson, Ranger Morgan, PFC Dorsey, Leo Benson, Mr. Mather

Listen for: The tensions between the two deserters as their escape plan goes wrong, and the Rangers' methodical investigation using Army records and physical evidence to track the soldiers.

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.