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The
Texas State Railroad
by Archie P. McDonald, PhD |
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"Hear
that lonesome whistle blow" is a line from a song that takes me back to the old
steam locomotives that huffed along 10,000 miles of railroad
track in Texas.
I remember hearing
such whistles as a part of the daily routine of growing up in Beaumont,
a city criss-crossed by the Santa Fe, Missouri Pacific, Kansas City Southern,
and Southern Pacific lines. Our house was about two blocks from the SP line and
four from the Santa Fe, so we were in a bracket for the racket. Modern diesel
engines have a horn, but the sound is not as romantic and never as thrilling as
the old steam engine whistle.
Where can you go to hear such whistles
again -- or for the first time? Rusk
and Palestine. And
you can ride from one to the other, or back if you wish, aboard the Texas
State Railroad. The Texas State is an excursion train now, but once it was
a real working line. |
| | Refueling
the Texas State Railroad locomotive
TE Photo |
Its first five miles
of track was constructed in 1896 to connect Rusk
with an iron foundry known as "Old Alcalde." In 1903 the line was extended to
Maydelle
to serve a foundry operated by the state prison system, then extended again to
Palestine , where it
connected with other lines, especially the Texas and New Orleans. Convict gandy
dancers provided the labor for these extensions.
In 1921 the line was
leased to the T&NO and remained in commercial operation until 1969, for the last
seven years under lease to the Texas-Southeastern and Missouri Pacific.
In 1972 the Texas legislature assigned the property to Texas Parks & Wildlife,
and in response to citizen requests, TP&WD agreed to redevelop the line as a steam-powered
excursion railroad for tourism. The line opened in 1976.
The Texas
State Railroad operates two trains simultaneously between Rusk
and Palestine for 110
days annually during the tourism season. The trip covers thirty-miles with the
trains passing at the Menshaw Siding, the site of a state sawmill, 1908-1912,
and a Civilian Conservation Corps camp, 1933-1937. The route passes over twenty-four
bridges, including an 1,100-foot span over the Neches
River. A shop in Rusk
contains old-time machinery for duplicating parts no longer available for purchase.
And the old trains have appeared in several television commercials and
motion pictures, including a recent made-for-television movie on the Rough Riders.
You can still hear that lonesome whistle blow, at least on the Texas
State Railroad.
All
Things Historical June
10-17 , 2001
Published by permission.
(Archie P. McDonald is Director
of the East Texas Historical Association and author or editor of over 20 books
on Texas)
Related Topics: Texas
Railroads
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