East Texas Railroads and Locomotives Collection

Collection

Identifier: A-0080

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

A collection of materials compiled from various sources concerning many of the railroad lines which have operated in East Texas. Included in the collection are an original first mortgage bond of the Houston East and West Texas Railway Company, the Articles of Incorporation of the Red River, Sabine and Western Railway Company, a subscription list for a proposed line of the Texas and New Orleans Railway Company through Nacogdoches, correspondence relating to the history of the Moscow, Camden and San Augustine Railroad, and newspaper clippings, published articles and other materials relating to East Texas railroads.

Dates

Creation: 1853-1985

Language of Materials

This collection is in English.

Conditions Governing Access

Open for research.

Biographical / Historical

After the Civil War, railroad lines in Texas began to expand into more rural areas. In Nacogdoches, the first railroad was the Houston East and West Texas Railway Company, founded in 1889. It was paid for by the people of Nacogdoches and had passenger cars as well as freight cars for livestock, agricultural staples and other goods produced in the area.

There were other companies that came to the area over the years. Some were relatively short lived, like the Port Bolivar and Iron Ore line of the Marshall and East Texas Railroad. Other lines thrived into the late twentieth century, with some railroads still being built as late as 1968. By the early 1970s many short-line railroads both in the Nacogdoches area and the country, including the Texas South-Eastern Railroad, went out of business. There were a few companies that perservered, like the Moscow, Camden and San Augustine Railroad. They stopped carrying passengers in 1973 but continued moving cargo.

Several locomotives from East Texas railroads and companies are still around today. Examples include the Waco, Beaumont, Trinity and Sabine Railway (see http://wbtsrailway.net/), the Angelina County Lumber Company locomotive at the Ellen Trout Zoo in Lufkin, and the Shay Locomotive near the SFA College of Forestry. Even though they no longer serve their original purpose, these locomotives, they are a reminder of the important role railroads played in the development of East Texas.

Written by History graduate student Wil Carter, Summer 2019.