Belle, at milepost 105, was still an open agency for the Rock Island in 1972. In a classic railroad scene, the agent hands up train orders to westbound train #73 on October 6, 1972. By 1975, Eldon would be the only open agency out on the line between Kansas City and St Louis. (Paul Dalman)

This selection from “Rails Around Missouri” can be found in Chapter Seven: Central Missouri. “Rails Around Missouri” is a 224-page, hard cover book containing over 500 all-color photos like this one, and will be released May 10, 2013. You can reserve your copy today at the pre-release price of $47.95 plus shipping. Choose between the KCS or Frisco cover (contents identical) and your copy will be signed by the author.