2011-9 Remembrances Special Edition 1
City of Schertz - Remembrances Publication Special Edition 2011-9 Presented by: Schertz Historical Preservation Committee
Riding the Rails Through Schertz – History
Of Railroad Passage North and Central
Transcontinental Beginnings Nineteenth century Americans witnessed revolutionary developments in a number of
quarters. But, one of the most important developments of the time was the introduction of
what was affectionately referred to as the “iron horse” - railroad transportation. The arrival of the “iron horse” allowed for the transformation of the American continent. Spurred by the California gold rush of 1848, Theodore Judah, Chief Engineer of the Sacramento Valley Railroad, proposed the establishment of a transcontinental railroad
originating from either San Francisco, Seattle or San Diego through the western
territories along either a northern, central, or southern route. Eventually, four Sacramento businessmen (Charles Croker, Mark Hopkins, Collis Huntington and Leland Stanford) gave birth to Judah’s plan by forming the Central Pacific Railroad, the forerunner to the Southern Pacific Railroad and what has been described as “the greatest commercial
empire that has heretofore been seen on the western side of the continent.”1 It didn’t hurt that Stanford reached the position as governor of California and in concert with President Lincoln secured passage of the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 which assured development of a central transcontinental routing of the railroad through the Sierras and on to Omaha, Nebraska to join with the Union Pacific Railroad. That transcontinental connection of the
Union Pacific and the Central Pacific Railroads occurred on May 10, 1869. What once had required months of travel, amidst harsh and dangerous territory, to reach California from anywhere near the mid-section of the nation was now reduced to days and accomplished in relative comfort and safety.
The earliest railroad locomotives were steam powered and equipped with either wood or coal fed boilers. Typically, they could pull four times their weight and reached top speeds of between thirty and thirty-five miles per hour. They weighed between 19-22 tons but by the late 1870s had increased in size to between 47-50 tons. 2
Texas Beginnings Although California was quick to initiate and expand its rail lines throughout the state, it was a bit behind the Lone Star State in chartering railroads. The first charter in Texas was issued in 1836 while Texas was still the Republic of Texas.3 By the time of statehood (1845) three railroads had been chartered in Texas but none had yet been built. The first
of the rails to be build was begun under the name Buffalo Bayou, Brazos & Colorado
Railroad (BBB&C). By 1856 the BBB&C had tracks laid and was running from Houston to the western edge of the Brazos. There were no less than 40 railroads in Texas that
1 Yenne, Bill, The History of the Southern Pacific, Smithmark Publishers Inc., New York, New York, 1994, p. 11 2 Yenne, The History of the Southern Pacific, pp. 45-47 3 Yenne, The Histroy of the Southern Pacific, p. 48
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would eventually fall under the umbrella of the Southern Pacific Railroad. In 1870 the
BBB&C Railroad became the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad
(GH&SA). In 1871, the U.S. Congress passed the Texas and Pacific Act that authorized construction of rail lines westward from Texas to Yuma, Arizona and eastward from California to Yuma.4 By 1877, California’s Southern Pacific Line had reached Yuma and the GH&SA had reached from New Orleans to San Antonio, Texas. In 1880 GH&SA
was purchased by Southern Pacific. By May of 1881, Southern Pacific had reached El
Paso from the west and in July Southern Pacific took action to build the GH&SA westward from San Antonio. A year and one-half later (January 1883) the last spike was driven opening the railroad route (Sunset Route) from Los Angeles to New Orleans.5 On 6 and 7 February, 1883, trains traveling west from New Orleans and east from Los
Angeles, respectively, reached San Antonio for the first time.
Schertz Beginnings Sometime (exact dates unknown) in late 1876 or early 1877 the GH&SA Railroad laid
tracks going east to west through Schertz and neighboring communities. In 1888, the
GH&SA and Texas & New Orleans railroads maintenance shops were merged at Houston, Texas where approximately 5,000 workers were employed. These facilities eventually became a part of the Southern Pacific Railroad enterprise. By 1939, that enterprise grew to become the third largest company in the nation.6
One of Schertz’s then northern neighboring communities, that has since been annexed by Schertz, Texas, was Comal, Texas. Comal was a small farming community. Comal is situated between the communities of Bracken and Solms, Texas along FM 482. Comal witnessed two railroads establish routes through their community - International & Great
Northern Railroad (I&GN) and Missouri-Kansas-Texas (MKT) (AKA: Katy) Railroad.
The I&GN was chartered in 1866 as the Houston & Great Northern Railroad Co., later to become a part of I&GN. In February 1881, an I&GN line was completed from Austin to San Antonio traversing through New Braunfels and Comal. In 1900, the MKT built its line from San Marcos to San Antonio, passing through Comal. Both the I&GN and MKT
were owned by railroad magnet Jay Gould who found himself forced to relinquish control
of I&GN in 1888. The MKT was the first railroad to enter Texas from the north. MKT initially attempted unsuccessfully to arrange for track usage rights to San Antonio on I&GN tracks. MKT was believed to be obligated by agreement with the Texas Railroad Commission to build its own track to San Antonio, thus the construction of the San
Marcos to San Antonio line that now passes through Comal. Passenger travel on the
MKT ceased in 1964 but freight operations continued until the Union Pacific bought the MKT in 1988.7 Union Pacific Railroad now owns and controls both the I&GN and MKT. Today, the I&GN line is used for southbound trains and the MKT for northbound trains.
4 Yenne, Ibid, p. 51 5 Yenne, Ibid, p. 51 6 Yenne, Ibid, p. 91 7 Internet search “History of Railroads at Comal Settlement” , p. 9
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The arrival of railroad service through Schertz and the neighboring towns had a profound affect on those community’s prosperity and growth. Railroad spurs were in place at both Schertz (then known as Cut Off, Texas) and at Comal to handle railroad car pick-up of
cotton production for shipment to markets outside Texas. San Antonio grew during the
period 1877 to 1900 from the states second largest city to its largest (53,000 population).8 So important to immigration efforts was the railroad that the GH& SA created an immigration department within the system which published leaflets sent to Europe encouraging immigration to Texas and suggesting settlement along the railroad routes.
The railroads also brought migrant labor to help farmers with their harvests.9 Farm
productivity rose tremendously with the arrival of rail transportation. Between 1872 and 1884, wool production increased ten fold from 700,000 pounds to 7,000,000 pounds. Every community that had a train deport prospered and those that didn’t longed to have one. Schertz leaders saw the benefit of a depot and in 1899 William Schertz offered
GH&SA free land on which to build a depot and thus the Schertz depot was put in place.
The placement of the depot is said to have been the event that inspired the name change of the community from Cut Off, Texas to Schertz, Texas. That depot was since moved from the community without thought of its historic value to the town.
Introduction in the late 19th century of railroad transportation in Schertz was Important in many ways but particularly with respect to how it influenced social Mobility of all the citizens. Photos show early steam locomotive and Schertz Depot (circa 1920-1930) (Photos property of Schertz Historical Preservation Committee)
8 Hemphill, Hugh, The Railroads of San Antonio and South Central Texas, Maverick Publishing, 2006, p.1 9 Hemphill, p. 2