Texas Almanac, 1952-1953 Page: 282
[674] p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this book.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
TEXAS ALMANAC.-1952-1953.
1894-A fine locomotive. Engine 7. prepares to pull out with the Dallas Commercial
Special over the Texas Trunk Railroad for East Texas points. The former Texas
Trunk is now a part of the Southern Pacific,1859. The charter provided for a line to the
Rio Grande, and fifty miles to Wharton were
graded when the war broke out. After the
war the road becamerc the property of the
International & Great Northern.
It had been so named by the planters be-
cause it embraced the touston Tap Railroad,
built in 1857 by a bond issue voted by Hous-
ton, to connect that city with the BBB&C
at Pierce Junctlion. A year after completion
it was sold to the planters at a $12,000 profit.
Texas-Louisiana Project.
On the same day as the Brazoria Road. the
Sabine & Galveston Railroad & Lumber Com-
pany was chartered. But no work had been
done up to 1859 and probably none would
have been done then but for a resolution
adopted on Seplt. 1 of that year by the Lou-
isiana Legislature addressed to the Legisla-
ture of Texas calling attention to this proj-
ect, stressing its strategic importance in the
event of civil war, then impending, authoriz-
ing the road to build from the Sabine to the
Mississippi under the name of the Texas &
New Orleans Railroad Company, Louisiana
division. The Texas Legislature acted prompt-
ly and favorably. A. M. Gentry, the president.
then had no trouble raising funds and the
road was completed from touston to Orange,
106 miles, by Jan. 1, 1861. But only forty-five
miles were built in Louisiana. The gap was
not fille unti l after the war.
Sabine Pass Road.
The next road along the coast built before
the war was the Eastern Texas Railroad.
Sabine Pass in those days was a thriving
port. Beaumont was also becoming a city.
Since 1852 both had been trying to get a rail-
road through the East Texas Piney Woods
to the Red River. Finally on Jan. 21, 1858,
this road was chartered, twenty-five miles
between the two cities built and twenty-five
miles graded north of Beaumont by 1861. It
was never operated. Dick Dowling used the
rails in Sepltember, 1863, to erect a fort at
Sabine Pass which enabled his little band of
forty-one Confederates to withstand a federal
bombardment and to disperse a strong fleet
with heavy loss. The road was not rebuilt
after the war.
North Texas Roads.
The other two railroads constructed before
the war were in North Texas, which by
1852 had attracted much of the immigration.
Many new towns had sprung up. Among them
Dallas, Jefferson and Clarksville were thelargest. They were the centers of heavy
"freighting" and river shipping. All of this
section clamored for railroads ar t wanted to
be on the route of the Transcontinental Road
which all Texas then thought would be
built through this state.
Two roads were projected as parts of the
plan. The first was the Vicksburg & El Paso,
or, as it was generally known, the Texas
Western. It was chartered on Feb. 16, 1852,
to commence on the eastern boundary and
extend to El Paso. No work was done on this,
but it issued stock in connection with an out-
side road also interested in a transcontinental
railroad-the Atlantic & Pacific-in an effort
to secure the contract for building the Missis-
sippi & Pacific, the state road authorized by
the Legislature. But the plan failed. In 1856
the Legislature renewed the charter of the
Texas Western and changed its name to the
Southern Pacific Railroad. This had no con-
nection with the present Southern Pacific
which was not organized until Dec. 2, 1865,
This new company under new management
had built twenty-five miles from Marshall
toward the state line and had twenty-fitve
miles more graded when the war broke out.
During the war, General Magruder took up
about fifteen miles of the rail and relaid it
toward Shreveport, using it for transporting
war material.
The other road was the Memphis, El Paso
& Pacific, chartered Feb. 7, 1853, to build
across the state also. Before the war began
they had graded fifty-seven miles but had
only five miles in operation from Jefferson
eastward. Later the two charters were amend-
ed so as to serve different portions of North
Texas and to authorize them to operate joint-
ly west of Dallas. In 1872 the Texas Legis-
lature, after a bitter fight, approved the sale
of the Southern Pacific and the Memphis, El
Paso & Pacific, with "all rights, benefits
and privileges granted or intended to he
granted." to the Texas & Pacific, which was
operating under a federal charter, the only
one in the state. Dallas was reached in 1873
when the panic stopped work.
Indianola Railroad.
The Indianola Railroad was chartered Jan,
21, 1858, to build fifteen miles to connect with
the SA&MG. The grading was done and ties
on hand, but they were destroyed in 1862 to
prevent the federal military forces then
threatening the coast from using them. The
road was actually built in 1871. Indianola..... " ..... L -.'7
..... ....~ ~ 4 B ~S Os.
!, i i ti i i f
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
Texas Almanac, 1952-1953, book, 1951; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117137/m1/284/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.