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TEXAS
RAILROADS |
Texas
Railroads were unquestionably the biggest economic force in Texas
after the Civil War and before the discovery
of oil. Towns were born, nurtured or killed
at the whim of railroad planners.
In this feature we examine the locomotives
and perhaps some of the loco motives behind the planning. After the early immigrations,
prior to the Civil War, railroads opened up the rest of the state to new groups
or to people transmigrating from other parts of the U.S.
Here are railroad
stations, steam engines, cabooses and rolling stock. Here are short line railroads,
railroad bridges and even a few train wrecks. It's a collection of railroad relics,
railroad stories and railroad towns discovered during our statewide research.
It's brightly painted heavy metal with a light coat of oil. |
NEW
The
Longest Train Ride
by C. F. Eckhardt 9-20-08
"Train #1 of the Gulf
& Interstate Railroad, which left Beaumont, Texas, at 7:00 AM on September 8,
1900, to make the run to Port Bolivar, about 85 miles away by modern highway,
arrived at Port Bolivar at 11:10 AM, September 24, 1903—three years, sixteen days,
and ten minutes late. Some of the original passengers were still aboard..." |
| The
Fredericksburg & Northern Railroad |
| | The
Little Engine That Couldn't by C. F. Eckhardt 11-12-07
"... Even after the War, with much improved roads and a much lessened
Indian problem, it still took freight wagons the better part of a week to travel
from San Antonio to Fredericksburg... The people north and west of San Antonio
wanted and needed a railroad..."
Tunnel and marker photos courtesy Sarah Reveley and Terry Jeanson |
| | Tracks
by Billy B. Smith
"I have always loved railroads, both the trains and tracks... One railroad
line in particular has been for me an umbilical cord that has connected me to
my roots and my life. I have lived close to this line for most of my life. It
always reminds me of where I've been and where I could have gone." |
The
Longest Train Ride by C. F. Eckhardt 9-20-08
"Train
#1 of the Gulf & Interstate Railroad, which left Beaumont, Texas, at 7:00 AM on
September 8, 1900, to make the run to Port Bolivar, about 85 miles away by modern
highway, arrived at Port Bolivar at 11:10 AM, September 24, 1903—three years,
sixteen days, and ten minutes late. Some of the original passengers were still
aboard..."Orphans
find homes in West by Delbert Trew 1-8-08
The Orphan Trains.Train
travelers owe much to service pioneer by Delbert Trew
Every traveler today,
no matter what mode of travel he prefers, owes a salute to the organizational
genius of Fred Harvey. This slender wisp of a man was all gentleman and laid the
groundwork and quality goals for travel hospitality, making such trips comfortable,
reliable and enjoyable.
Built
it and they will ride it by Archie P. McDonald
Most motorists
traveling down Bremond Street in Houston, Lufkin, and Nacogdoches, or likely any
street along US Highway 59 from Houston to north of Nacogdoches, haven't a clue
of the debt East Texas owes to Paul Bremond... The
Conroe, Byspot and Northern: A Tram Railroad That Time Forgot by W. T.
Block, Jr.
The Conroe, Byspot and Northern was never a chartered short-line
railroad, but it nevertheless carried on many of the activities typical of a chartered
railroad... |
Amarillo
Symphony by Mike Cox
"For all Amarilloans, those whistles
— long since replaced by more prosaic air horns — represent the sound of a city’s
history."
Bet-A-Million
Gates by Archie P. McDonald
John Warne
Gates, a native of Winfield, Illinois, became associated with three of Texas’
most important items: barbed wire, railroads, and oil."Struck
on the head by a Locomotive" Early Waco Obituaries 1874-1908.
Judging by these entries, the good old days didn't quite live up to the reputation.Railroads
by Archie P. McDonald
Trains are still crucial for moving freight,
despite competition from trucks. Airplanes and cars move people. Some folks are
fond of these. Johnny Cash and I have a thing about trains.Hell
Either Way Taken by Archie P. McDonaldDenison,
Birth Place of a President by Archie P. McDonaldRevisiting
The Rabbit by Bob BowmanA
Railroad Centennial by Bob BowmanThe
Iron Road Sorority: Penelope, May, Pearl, and Venus by John Troesser |
Texas
Train Robberies
Bud
Newman Gang by Mike Cox 5-26-08
A little more than a year after the Comstock shooting, newspapers readers learned
that west-bound SP passenger train No. 20 had been robbed around midnight on Dec.
20, 1896 near Cow Creek less than a mile west of Comstock....
Bud Newman, part II by Mike
Cox 5-29-08
About 11 p.m. on June 9,
1898 at a point called Coleman Switch about four miles west of Santa Anna, Newman
and three other masked men descended on a Santa Fe passenger train...A
Railroad Holdup by Bob Bowman
Railroaders love to tell stories,
and the one they relish the most is about the railroad president and the holdup
man.The
Tall Texan : The Story of Ben Kilpatrick by Arthur Soule The
Last Full-sized Train Robbery in Texas by Brewster Hudspeth |
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