USA > Texas > A history of central and western Texas > Part 24
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August 5, 1870, the International Railroad was chartered to build a line from Red river opposite Fulton, Arkansas, across Texas by Austin and San Antonio towards Laredo on the Rio Grande. The company was organized at New York in October, 1870, and construction began at Hearne in Robertson county the latter part of the same year. In 1871 fifty miles were in 'operation, to Jewett in Leon county. The road was rapidly extended, to Palestine in February, 1872, and to Longview (174
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miles) in December of the same year. At Longview it connected with the Texas & Pacific and at Palestine with the H. & G. N.
September 23, 1873, the I. & G. N. Railroad was incorporated, with authority to purchase and consolidate the International and the Houston & Great Northern, with their branches. The main line was extended west from Hearne to Austin in 1876. Austin was the terminus for a year or so, and construction was then continued to San Antonio and to Laredo, the first train running to the Rio Grande in 1881. In April, 1874, the branch from Troupe to Mineola was opened, that between Overton and Henderson in 1877, and the connection between the main line and Georgetown was built in 1878 and later absorbed by the I. & G. N.
Until the late 'zos Galveston had but one railroad, the G. H. & H., which connected with the railroad system of the state at Houston. At its inception the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe was a Galveston enterprise, planned to penetrate the central region of the state and draw its com- merce directly to Galveston without the necessity of paying tribute to Houston. The Santa Fe did much to make Galveston an independent railroad terminal, freed from the restrictions imposed by its business rival on the bayou. The following sketch of the road's early history was written by Ben C. Stuart in the Galveston News:
"The Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway was not originally con- nected with the Atchison system, but was an exclusively Galveston enter- prise. It was incorporated by an act of the legislature May 28, 1873. The capital stock was fixed at a maximum limit of $7,000,000, and the minimum at $2,000,000, which was the amount under which the com- pany received a land grant from the state of sixteen alternate sections, or 10,240 acres, for every mile of road constructed, and under this pro- vision of its charter secured a total of 3,259,520 acres of the public domain. Under an act of the legislature approved April 12, 1871, by which cities or counties were permitted to donate or subscribe bonds for the purpose of aiding in railroad construction, an election was held at which Galveston county voted to issue $500,000 in bonds, taking therefor five thousand shares of the capital stock of the company at the par value of one hundred dollars a share. This was one-fourth of the minimum captalization of the company under which it began operations. Under the original act of incorporation the road was to be constructed from Galveston by way of Caldwell, Cameron, Belton and Eastland to the Canadian river in the Panhandle, up that stream to the state line, and thence to Santa Fe.
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"Among the early officers and directors of the company were M. Kopperl, president; James Sorley, vice president ; C. R. Hughes, secre- tary; H. Rosenberg, R. S. Willis, J. E. Wallis, C. B. Lee, Walter Gresham, W. L. Moody, Julius Runge, H. Kempner, C. W. Hurley, H. Marwitz and C. E. Richards. The work of grading was begun in May, 1875. Gen. Braxton Bragg, who had been a distinguished Confed- erate officer during the Civil war, was appointed chief engineer, and under his direction work on the trestle bridge across the bay was begun in 1875, the structure being much damaged in the storm of that autumn. General Bragg remained with the road until September 27, 1876, when he was suddenly stricken with heart disease while crossing a Galveston street and fell dead. He was succeeded as chief engineer by the late Maj. B. M. Temple."
The company was reorganized in 1879, at which time George Sealy became president. "He had been largely instrumental in forming the syndicate to take over the road, and the line was extended mainly through the capital and credit of Galveston people and the influence of Mr. Sealy and other members of the firm of Ball, Hutchings, & Co."
The road was opened from Galveston to Arcola in 1876, and two years later to Richmond. After the reorganization, the line was pushed on to Brenham, in 1880, and to Belton, 226 miles from Galveston, in February, 1881.
During the decade of the '70s the greater part of the Texas & Pacific Railway was constructed across North Texas. In the decade before the war, the Memphis, El Paso & Pacific had been commenced near Texarkana February 1, 1857, and over fifty miles graded before the war. Construction was renewed in 1869, and March 1, 1870, fifty miles were in operation, and by June 15, 1870, one hundred miles were finished.
July 27, 1870, the Southern Trans-Continental Railway Company was incorporated with authority to purchase the M. E. P. & P., which under its charter had fallen into financial and legal straits. March 24, 1871, an act granted three million dollars in state bonds to the Trans- Continental company and also to the Southern Pacific company on condi- tion that they extended their lines to a junction not east of Shackleford county; and also authorized the consolidation of the two companies under the name of Texas & Pacific Railway Company. The consolida- tion was effected in March, 1872.
Col. Thomas A. Scott was the propelling genius of this enterprise.
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The old Southern Pacific had been built from Shreveport to Longview, and this, as the main line of the Texas & Pacific, was extended on to Dallas in 1873. The Jefferson branch, between Marshall and Texarkana, was completed about 1875. A little later the Trans-Continental division, from Texarkana, was completed to Sherman.
The financial panic of 1873 had begun just two weeks after the completion of the main line of the T. & P. to Dallas. Railroad building during the next three years made little progress. The T. & P. Railway Company extended the main line beyond the Trinity to Eagle Ford, but could get no further. Fort Worth was in the meanwhile waiting with impatience the arrival of the first railroad train. Despairing of outside aid, the citizens finally in the fall of 1875 organized the Tarrant County Construction Company, which undertook the grading of the road into Fort Worth. The following spring the railroad company was able to pro- ceed with track-laying, and on July 19, 1876, the first train arrived at Fort Worth. In 1880, also largely through the aid of local enterprise, the main line was extended to Weatherford, and from that point construc- tion went on rapidly to the west during 1880 and 1881. By 1880 the Trans-Continental branch was built from Sherman to Fort Worth.
The first railroad to reach Texas from the north was the Missouri, Kansas & Texas. The nucleus of this system was chartered September 20, 1865, and construction work soon began at Junction City, Kansas. It was pushed on to the southern boundary of that state and was opened to Chetopa, June 1, 1870. During 1871 and 1872 the road continued building through Indian Territory, and in the last months of 1872 crossed the Red river and halted in a corn field four miles away, in Grayson county. Around this terminus, to which trains began to be operated on January 1, 1873, there sprang into existence the town of Denison.
The first charter of a "narrow-gauge" railway in Texas was that approved August 4, 1870, and was originated by Dr. Ingham S. Roberts as the Western Narrow Gauge Railway. T. W. House, R. O. Love, Dr. Ingham S. Roberts, Eugene Pillot and other well-known Houston busi- ness men were among the incorporators. Its name was changed, Feb- ruary 6, 1875, to Texas Western Narrow Gauge Railway. The road was built from Houston to Patterson near the Brazos river, and later, in 1882, was built from Patterson to Sealy. This original narrow-gauge line was dismantled, and its route from Sealy to Houston has since been followed by the M. K. & T. The H. E. & W. T. Railroad is a line from Houston to Shreveport, incorporated March 11, 1875, and was the work
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principally of the late Paul Bremond. In 1870 the road was open to Goodrich, sixty-two miles, and was extended to Moscow in 1880, to Burke in 1881, to Nacogdoches in 1882, and to the Sabine river by December, 1885. The Louisana portion of the road is the Shreveport & Houston, and service between these terminals was inaugurated in January, 1886. The line was changed from narrow to standard gauge in 1894.
1880 TO 1890
By 1880 the Southern Pacific Railroad had been built from the Pacific coast to El Paso. There remained the gap of about five hundred miles between El Paso and San Antonio, the latter being the western end of the G. H. & S. A. Building then began at both these terminals, and with the closing of the gap in 1883 the southern transcontinental line was completed, so the trains could run from New Orleans to the Pacific.
In North Texas, the extension of the T. & P. westward from Weatherford had begun in 1880, and proceeded with great rapidity. In the summer of 1881 track-laying went on at the average of two miles a day. By October, 1880, construction trains had reached Eastland City, 100 miles from Fort Worth, and the first train entered El Paso over this road in January, 1882, using the tracks of the Southern Pacific from Sierra Blanca to El Paso.
During this decade Texas obtained another north and south trunk line. The G. C. & S. F. had been built from Galveston to Belton by February, 1881. Through the inducements offered by citizens of Fort Worth, Cleburne and in other counties, the building of a connecting line between Fort Worth and the main line was undertaken during 1881 and proceeded with so much energy that the first train from Temple to Fort Worth entered the latter city December 2, 1881. This portion of the road was then considered a branch. The main line was extended from Belton to Lampasas in May, 1882; to Brownwood in January, 1886; from Brownwood to Coleman in March, 1886; Coleman to Ballinger, June, 1886; and Ballinger to San Angelo, in September, 1888.
In 1886 the G. C. & S. F., through an exchange of stock, was con- solidated with the A., T. & S. F. system. By January, 1887, the line of the Santa Fe from Fort Worth to Gainesville was in operation, and a few months later, by construction of the line between the latter point and Purcell, Indian Territory, the Texas divisions of the Santa Fe were
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linked with the main trunks of the system. The G. C. & S. F. is one of the few among Texas railroads that have never been in the hands of a receiver. Even at the time the Atchison system outside of Texas was in the hands of a receiver, the Gulf line, through the efforts of Mr. Sealy, was kept out of the courts.
The branch from Alvin connecting Houston with the main line of the Santa Fe was built about 1884. In 1882 the Central & Montgomery Railroad, from Navasota to Montgomery, was purchased, and in 1883 this was joined to the main line by an extension from Navasota to Somerville, and in 1885 this branch was built to Conroe. In 1882 the branch from Cleburne to Dallas was put in operation, and thence extended to Paris in June, 1887.
The Corpus Christi, San Diego & Rio Grande Railroad, originally narrow-gauge, was chartered March 13, 1875, was built from Corpus Christi to San Diego, fifty miles, by 1879, and was extended fifty miles farther in 1880. In 1881 it was completed to Laredo, and the present name, Texas Mexican Railway, adopted. It is operated as part of the Mexican National system.
The Texas Central Railroad was chartered May 28, 1879. Con- struction was begun at Ross, the terminus of the Waco division of the H. & T. C., and the line was completed to Albany. (176 miles) in 1882. In 1899 this road was extended to Stamford, and about 1907 was con- tinued to Rotan in Fisher county.
The New York, Texas & Mexican Railroad (now part of the Sunset System) was chartered in 1880. Construction began at Rosenberg, on the main line of the G. H. & S. A., and the ninety-two miles to Victoria were completed January 15, 1882.
The branch of the Gulf, Western Texas & Pacific from Victoria to Beeville was built in 1890.
About 1880 the Gonzales Branch Railroad was built from Harwood to Gonzales, connecting the latter town with the main line of the G. H. & S. A.
An important Texas railroad that originated and was mostly built during this decade was the San Antonio & Aransas Pass. Prominent residents of San Antonio originated this plan of a railroad directly to the gulf. Uriah Lott was the first president, and among the early directors were George W. Brackenridge, B. F. Yoakum, W. H. Maverick, Henry Elmendorf. The company was chartered August 28, 1884, and construc- tion began in August, 1885. The charter had been so amended as to
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HISTORY OF CENTRAL AND WESTERN TEXAS.
provide for connecting San Antonio with all quarters of Texas. The line from San Antonio to Beeville was completed in 1986, and by the following year had reached Corpus Christi and Aransas Pass. June I, 1887, the Kerrville branch had reached Boerne. During the next two years the line from Kenedy to Houston was completed; Kerrville was reached; the branch from Yoakum toward Waco was built fifty miles to West Point, and the Brownsville division was built from Skidmore to Kleberg. In 1891 the Waco branch was complete, and about the same time the Austin branch was constructed from Shiner as far as Lockhart. The only subsequent addition to the "Sap" system was the extension from Alice to Falfurrias, built in 1904.
The Fort Worth & Denver City Railway was chartered May 26, 1873, but owing to the panic of that year eight years passed before the work of construction began. The first grading was begun at Hodge, several miles north of Fort Worth, in November, 1881, the first rails were laid the following February, and Wichita Falls was reached Septem- ber 27, 1882. This was the first line to penetrate the country to the northwest of Fort Worth, and the immediate results were seen in the upbuilding of towns and a general transformation in agricultural condi- tions and settlement. All the now flourishing towns west of Henrietta, including Wichita Falls, Vernon, Quanah and Amarillo, begin their his- tory practically with the building of the railroad. According to the terms of the charter, the Fort Worth & Denver City should have been completed by Christmas day, 1882. But extension west from Wichita Falls was not resumed until May, 1885. By April, 1887, Quanah was the western terminus, while the Denver, Texas & Fort Worth, as the Colorado divi- sion of the road was known, had been built 138 miles from Pueblo. The two divisions met at Texline and were connected March 14, 1888, thus opening the shortest rail line between the gulf and Colorado points.
During this decade some important additions were made to the network of rails controlled by the H. & T. C. Ry. Co. The Waxahachie Tap Railway had been chartered in 1875, but the name was subsequently changed to Central Texas & Northwestern, and was opened from Garret to Waxahachie, a distance of twelve miles, in 1881. The Fort Worth & New Orleans was chartered in 1885 to build between the two cities named. This enterprise originated in Fort Worth, whose citizens raised $75,000 to construct the first division. Work was begun in September, 1885, and the line was opened to Waxahachie in May, 1886. Both these
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HISTORY OF CENTRAL AND WESTERN TEXAS.
roads soon after fell into the control of the Southern Pacific interests and were used to provide a Fort Worth branch for the H. & T. C.
The St. Louis Southwestern Railway, commonly called the "Cotton Belt," was originally a narrow gange line beginning at Bird's Point, op- posite Cairo, Illinois. In Texas the original portion of this system was the Tyler Tap Railroad, which was chartered December 1, 1871. With a three-foot gauge, the road was opened from Tyler to Ferguson, 21 miles, in 1871, and to Mt. Pleasant in 1878. This road in 1879 became the property of the Texas and St. Louis Railway Company, which in 1881 completed the road west from Tyler to Waco, and in 1882 it was extended to Gatesville, the present western terminus. In 1883 the main line from Missouri to Texarkana was opened. During 1884-86 the system was in a receivership. It was reorganized under two com- panies, known as the St. Louis, Arkansas & Texas Railway Company. At a cost of several million dollars the gauge was changed to standard. In 1887-88 the road was built from Mt. Pleasant to Sherman and to Fort Worth, and the Corsicana-Hillsboro branch was also completed. In 1887 the Kansas & Gulf Short Line, from Tyler to Lufkin, was purchased. This line had been chartered in 1880 and had been built in 1882. In 1890 another reorganization occurred, when all the Texas prop- erties except the Lufkin branch last mentioned, were turned over to the St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company of Texas. The Tyler & Southeastern Railway Co. owned the Lufkin branch until 1899, when it again became a part of the Cotton Belt. In 1903 it was extended from Lufkin to Warsaw, and has recently been constructed to White City.
Many of the lines constituting the M. K. & T. railroad group in Texas were constructed during the '8os. In the winter of 1878-79 what was at first known as the Denison & Pacific began building from Denison west, being completed to Whitesboro in March, 1879, and to Gaines- ville in November of the same year. In January, 1880, this line was purchased by the M. K. & T. company. In 1887 the Gainesville, Hen- rietta & Western was built to Henrietta and subsequently the Wichita Falls Railway was built to the town of that name. The Trans-Con- tinental division of the Texas & Pacific from Sherman to Fort Worth was built in 1880, and the M. K. & T. has since used this line from Whitesboro to Fort Worth. The part of the M. K. & T. lines from Denton to Dallas had been constructed as the Dallas & Wichita Railroad, which was chartered in 1871, had been built as far as Lewisville in 1874
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HISTORY OF CENTRAL AND WESTERN TEXAS.
and was completed to Denton in 1880. This road was purchased by the "Katy" in 1884.
From Fort Worth south the main line of this system was built by a subsidiary company called the Taylor, Bastrop & Houston Railroad Company. By 1884 this was opened to Taylor, with a branch to Belton, and in 1886 under the same name the road was built to Boggy Tank in Fayette county a few miles east of Fayetteville. The same company built the line from San Marcos to Lockhart, in 1887. From Boggy Tank to Houston the M. K. & T. company extended its main line in 1892, and in 1895 secured an outlet to Galveston over the G. H. & H. tracks. From Smithville to Lockhart the road was opened in 1892, and by the opening of the extension from San Marcos to San Antonio, in May, 1901, the Katy completed connections with all the chief cities of Texas. In 1903 the short line from Granger to Austin, built by the Granger, Georgetown, Austin & San Antonio Ry. Co., was acquired, and in the same year was extended to Austin.
The M. K. & T. from Hillsboro to Dallas was originally the Dallas & Waco, which had been chartered in 1886, and was constructed to Waxahachie in 1889, to Milford in 1890, and then being acquired by the M. K. & T. was completed to Hillsboro in 1891.
In 1877-78 the Denison & Southeastern was completed from Deni- son to Greenville, and soon afterward acquired by the M. K. & T. In 1884 this line had been extended from Greenville to Mineola. In 1876 the citizens of Jefferson had constructed the East Line & Red River Railroad, a narrow-gange line, from Jefferson to Greenville. This became a part of the M. K. & T. system about 1884, and was extended as a broad gange from Greenville to Mckinney. From Jefferson to the state line this road was built about 1902.
The isolated branch of the M. K. & T. from Trinity to Colmesneil was built about 1882, under the name of Trinity & Sabine Railroad, this having been constructed as a branch of the I. & G. N.
The miles of railroad in operation in Texas in 1880 were 3,244. Over five thousand miles were constructed during the following decade, and with one or two exceptions the trunk lines of Texas were completed. In 1891 the railway mileage of the state was 8,654. In 1900 it was 9,867, showing an increase of only twelve hundred miles during the decade. In 1909 the miles in operation were 13,277. In the following paragraphs are summarized the important railroad constructions during the last two decades.
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HISTORY OF CENTRAL AND WESTERN TEXAS.
The Frisco system had its nucleus in the Southwest branch of the Pacific Railroad, built from Pacific to Rolla, Mo., in 1861. This was pur- chased by J. C. Fremont and associates and was known as the South- west Pacific to 1868. It was extended to Springfield, Mo., and known as the South Pacific, in 1870 was merged with the Atlantic & Pacific, and in 1878 the different lines were organized under the present name of the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway Company.
The oldest part of the Frisco System in Texas was the Fort Worth & Rio Grande Railroad, which originated among the railroad-building citizens of Fort Worth. The company was chartered in 1885 and con- struction began on November 23, 1886. The first division to Granbury was completed August 25, 1887. In 1889 work was resumed, and the road was extended to Stephenville by October, 1890, and Brownwood was reached July 16, 1891. The consolidation of this line with the other Frisco lines of Texas was authorized in March, 1903, and about that time the road had been extended to Brady and is now in process of con- struction to Menardville.
In 1887 the Frisco had constructed a line from Fort Smith, Ark., to Paris, Texas, the seventeen miles between Paris and the Red river being called Paris & Great Northern Railroad. The Frisco lines sub- sequently penetrated Texas at three other points-Denison, Quanah and Vernon. In 1901 the Red River, Texas & Southern Railway was chart- ered by the Frisco interests, and constructed the line from Sherman to Carrollton, entrance to Fort Worth being at first obtained over the Cotton Belt, but subsequently by the Rock Island.
In 1905 the Beaumont, Sour Lake & Western was completed between Beaumont and Sour Lake, and two years later was continued to Houston. The Orange & Northwestern, between Orange and Newton, built in 1905, is also a Frisco property. By means of the Kansas City Southern from Beaumont to the state line, and by Louisiana connections, the Frisco has recently inaugurated train service between Houston and New Orleans, thus competing with the Southern Pacific.
The St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico Railway, an allied line with the Frisco System, was chartered in June, 1903. Construction began at Brownsville, and was carried to Robstown in July, 1904, to Sinton, in April, 1905, to Bay City in 1906, and in the spring of 1907 the road was completed to Algoa, whence the Santa Fe tracks afford entry to Houston and to Galveston. The branch line from Harlingen up the
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Rio Grande valley to Sam Fordyce was completed in December, 1904.
The Chicago, Rock Island & Texas Railway Company was chart- ered July 15, 1892. The Rock Island line from Red river through Bowie to Fort Worth was opened in August, 1893. The branch from Bridgeport was built to Jacksboro in 1898, and extended to Graham in 1902. The line from Fort Worth to Dallas was opened in 1903. In 1900 the Chicago, Rock Island & Mexico was built across the northwest corner of the Pan- handle, as part of the Rock Island lines from Kansas City to El Paso. In 1903 the Choctaw, Oklahoma & Texas was completed from the Oklahoma line to Amarillo, and this line is now (1910) about completed from Amarillo to the New Mexico line. In 1903 all these Rock Island lines were consolidated under the corporate title of Chicago, Rock Island & Gulf Railway Company.
The history of the Rock Island outlet to the Gulf, by way of the Trinity & Brazos Valley, is told as follows in Potts' "Railroad Trans- portation in Texas": "In 1902 the Rock Island System, in order to reach Houston and Galveston, arranged for the purchase, from the Southern Pacific company, of a one-half interest in the H. & T. C. rail- road, which was to be turned over to the Rock Island Company and consolidated with its lines. For some reason the state railroad com- mission refused to allow the proposed transfer, presumably for the purpose of forcing the Rock Island to build its own line to tidewater, a plan it had previously had in contemplation. More recently, however, the desired outlet has been secured by the purchase of a one-half interest, along with the Colorado & Southern, in the Trinity & Brazos Valley Railroad. This road was organized October 17, 1902, and the first section from Hillsboro to Hubbard City was opened a year later. By January 26, 1904 trains were running from Cleburne to Mexia, seventy-nine miles, and during the year 1907 the main line was completed to Houston and a branch from Teague through Corsicana to Waxahachie. The use of the Santa Fe tracks from Cleburne gives it an entrance into Fort Worth, while the M. K. & T. tracks are used from Waxahachie to Dallas. The Santa Fe tracks are also used at present from Houston to Galveston. The company owns one-fourth interest in the Houston Belt & Terminal Railway, a very valuable property. The main line from Cleburne to Houston is very well constructed, with low grades and easy curves, and, as it is the only Galveston outlet for an extensive group of roads belonging both to the Rock Island and to the Colorado & Southern systems, it is certain to have a large tonnage."
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