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Houston and Texas Central Railway

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Houston and Texas Central Railway
Overview
Reporting markH&TC
LocaleTexas
Dates of operation1856–1934
SuccessorTNO
Technical
Track gauge4 ft8+1⁄2in(1,435 mm)standard gauge
Previous gauge5 ft 6 in(1,676 mm)

TheHouston and Texas Central Railway(H&TC) was an 872-mile (1403-km) railway system chartered inTexasin 1848, with construction beginning in 1856. The line eventually stretched fromHoustonnorthward toDallasandDenison, Texas,with branches toAustinandWaco.[1]

History[edit]

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Pre-Columbian Texas
Early Spanish explorations1519–1543
French Texas1684–1689
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Statehood1845–1860
Civil War Era1861–1865
Reconstruction1865–1899
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flagTexas portal
1880 map of the Houston and Texas Central Railway

Ebenezer AllenofGalveston, Texasobtained the charter to establish a railroad company on March 11, 1848. Other investors includedPaul Bremond,Thomas William House, Sr.,William J. Hutchins,Francis Moore,Benjamin A. Shepherd, James H. Stevens,William Marsh Rice,and William Van Alstyne.[2]A series of meetings about the establishment of the company took place inChappell HillandHouston.In 1852, the Galveston and Red River Railway (G&RR) company became active.[1]

Construction started on January 1, 1853, when Bremond and House broke ground in Houston. Track-laying of the5 ft 6 in(1,676 mm)[3]gaugerailroad began in early 1856. By July 26 tracks had reached the 25-mile (40 km) point, atCypress.The railroad company name was changed from G&RR to H&TC on September 1, 1856. By April 22, 1861, railroad construction had reached the 81-mile (130 km) point atMillican.The construction was halted because of theCivil War.In 1867, with the war over, construction resumed.[1]

In 1867, the H&TC railroad company took control of theWashington County Railroad (1856–1868).That railroad had 25 miles (40 km) of railroad line with a gauge of 5 feet 6 inches betweenBrenham, TexasandHempstead, Texas,which had been chartered in 1856 and completed in April 1861. The H&TC completed the line toAustinon December 25, 1871.[1]

H&TC rails reachedCorsicanain 1871,Dallasin 1872, andRed River City, Texas(nowDenison) in 1873, where it connected with theMissouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad.This formed the first all-railroad route from Houston toSt. Louis, Missouri,and theEastern United Statesfor freight and passengers.[1]The railway line was sold toCharles Morganin March 1877.

The Houston and Texas CentralRailwayCompany entered receivership on February 23, 1885; the Main Line and the Western Division were sold to the Houston and Texas CentralRailroadCompany on April 1, 1890. The Waco and Northwestern Division remained in receivership until it was sold on September 5, 1895. It was acquired by the Houston and Texas Central Railroad on June 30, 1898.[4]

The H&TC Railroad continued to operate independently until 1927, when it was leased to theTexas and New Orleans Railroad,a subsidiary of theSouthern Pacific Railroad.[1]The HT&C was merged into the T&NO in 1934. The T&NO was merged into the SP in 1961, and the SP into theUnion Pacificin 1996.[5]

U.S. Route 75was built on the H&TCright of waynortheasterly from Downtown Dallas to Elsworth Avenue.[6]This highway locally is called North Central Expressway in homage of the Houston & Texas CENTRAL line.Dallas Area Rapid Transitpurchased the track from Elsworth Avenue toPlanoin 2012[7]for commuter-train service. North of Plano'sParker Road Station,the abandoned right-of-way continues toMcKinney, Texas.

See also[edit]

Impressions of 1891[edit]

  • Houston, H&TC Depot, (c. 1890)
    Houston, H&TC Depot, (c. 1890)
  • Cutting timber at the Line of the H&TC
    Cutting timber at the Line of the H&TC
  • Lumber Mill at the Line of the H&TC
    Lumber Mill at the Line of the H&TC
  • Advertisement, 1894
    Advertisement, 1894

References[edit]

  1. ^abcdefWerner, George C."HOUSTON AND TEXAS CENTRAL RAILWAY".Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association.RetrievedJanuary 7,2012.
  2. ^Maxwell (1998), pp. 6–7.
  3. ^"Houston & Texas Central Railroad".Confederate Railroads.
  4. ^Werner, George C."Waco and Northwestern Railroad".Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association.RetrievedOctober 16,2023.
  5. ^"UP-Southern Pacific Merger Creates Largest U.S. Railroad".Union Pacific Railroad (September 11, 1996).Retrieved29 October2019.
  6. ^"US 75 Project".Texas Department of Transportation.Retrieved2023-09-13.
  7. ^"DART History".Dallas Area Regional Transit.Retrieved2023-09-13.
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External links[edit]

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