Devereaux, Dred D.

Interview 7a: In this 1954 interview with John Larson of the Forest History Society, Dred Devereaux, longtime head of the Texas Southeastern Railroad Buildings and Bridges Department, talks about the changes in logging practices and railroads during his tenure in the business, from about 1905 to the 1950’s. He talks about the changes in logging – from oxen to mules to machines and the changes in the railroads, from gauge sizes and manual labor to mechanized construction. He talks about working with Clyde Thompson, E.C. Durham, T.L.L. Temple, Arthur Temple, Sr. and Arthur Temple, Jr. of Southern Pine Lumber Company. Mr. Devereaux compares working conditions and pay and the quality of workers from the beginning to the middle of the 20th century. He describes the first crane used on TSE tracks and how he righted a wrecked locomotive with the help of longtime engineer Titus Mooney in 1937.