Brief History of the SA&AP

• URIAH LOTT
• • Early Life
  • • Jan. 30, 1842 - Born in Albany, New York
    • Went to work for the Chicago and Alton Railroad in Illinois in his early twenties
    • 1867 - Moved to Corpus Christi and opened a small store
    • Later worked as a county clerk and then as a ranch supply salesman
    • Life in Corpus Christi
    • 1869 - Lott started U. Lott & Company, a commission and forwarding company
    • He became interested in the effort to secure a deep water port at Corpus Christi
    • June 15, 1871 - He joined the board of the Corpus Christi Navigation Company to help improve the Corpus Christi ship channel
  • CCSD&RG Narrow Gauge Railroad
  • • For many years a railroad had been proposed from Corpus Christi to Mexico
    • 1856 - Corpus Christi & Rio Grande Railroad was chartered but never built
    • Uriah Lott realized the importance of building a railroad to Mexico
    • He began promoting a railroad reviving the idea of the old CC&RG
    • Spring of 1875 - Uriah Lott oversaw the grading of a narrow gauge line from Corpus Christi towards Mexico
    • Sept. 18, 1875 - The railroad was reorganized on as the Corpus Christi, San Diego & Rio Grande Narrow Gauge Railroad
    • Lott had to spend a lot of time finding capital and construction was slow
    • 1876 - Two leading businessmen in South Texas, Richard King and Miflin Kenedy, began to support Lott’s efforts
    • Before the line was completed, Lott sold it to owners of the Mexican National Railway who later renamed it as the Texas Mexican Railway
    • Sept. 1, 1881 - Construction was completed to Laredo
• FORMATION OF THE SA&AP
• • San Antonio and a Deep Water Port
  • • 1877 - The Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railway (GH&SA) reached San Antonio connecting it with Galveston
    • But San Antonio still wanted a more direct route to a deepwater port
    • The San Antonio, Mexico & Gulf Railroad started a line from Port Lavaca but it stalled at Cuero
    • Another route was proposed from the Aransas Pass waterway to San Antonio
  • The Railroad is Organized
  • • Aug. 7, 1884 - The SA&AP Railway Company was incorporated
    • Aug. 13, 1884 - The stockholders met and elected directors
    • A. Belknap was elected as first president
    • Aug. 27, 1884 - The directors voted down a proposal to build using narrow gauge
  • The Route
  • • Sept. 3, 1884 - George Polk was chosen to survey possible routes for the line
    • Two routes were surveyed, a western route via Beeville & an eastern route via Goliad
    • Oct. 1884 - The survey was completed and submitted to the president
    • But nothing was done for months
  • Uriah Lott Arrives
  • • Lott moved to San Antonio, determined to complete the project
    • March 1885 - The company reorganized with Uriah Lott as the president
    • Construction began a few months later
• CONSTRUCTION OF THE SA&AP
• • Construction of the First Line
  • • May 15, 1885 - A construction crew arrived in San Antonio
    • May 18, 1885 - Construction began with parades and speeches
    • Jan. 7, 1886 - 30 miles were completed to Floresville
    • Jan. 28, 1886 - Lott had a celebration in Floresville to mark the opening of the line to this point
    • But he lacked the capital to continue building past Floresville
    • Mifflin Kenedy, who had supported Lott’s efforts to build the Corpus Christi, San Diego & Rio Grande Narrow Gauge Railroad, offered to help Lott
    • Kenedy contracted with the SA&AP to build the line in return for all the bonuses acquired from individuals and towns along the way
    • June 17, 1886 - The first train arrived at Beeville
    • Kenedy and Lott decided to end the line at Corpus Christi instead of Rockport (the town of Aransas Pass did not exist yet)
    • Oct. 28, 1886 - The railroad reached Corpus Christi, thus completing the line for a distance of 149.5 miles
    • Nov. 8, 1886 - The SA&AP Town Site Company was formed to handle development of towns along the line
  • Houston Line
  • • 1887-88 - Constructed from Kenedy to Houston for a distance of 176.1 miles
    • Lott considered plan to acquire the Texas Western Railway (Houston to Sealy) but decided to enter Houston with new construction
    • Feb. 21, 1889 - The first freight was delivered to Houston
    • Initially, Lott worked out a plan to share terminal facilities with the SP in Houston, but the deal fell through, and he struggled to build a new terminal
    • Oct. 1, 1889 - Regular train service began from Houston
    • 1890's - The SA&AP extended the Houston line a short distance in Houston from Polk Ave. to the T&NO at Bell Yard
  • Northwest Extension (Kerrville Branch)
  • • A line was originally planned from San Antonio to the Texas Panhandle
    • Kerrville and Fredericksburg both wanted the SA&AP to route the extension through their towns
    • Lott eventually decided to build to Kerrville, angering the citizens of Fredericksburg
    • Spring of 1886 - Lott finally offered to build the extension if towns along the way secured subscriptions of $180,000 and secured the necessary right of way
    • August 26, 1886 - Grading was started on the extension
    • April 1, 1887 - Track was completed to Leon Springs
    • August 1887 - 71 miles was completed to Kerrville
    • Due to excessive construction costs, the line was never built past Kerrville
    • The branch never met expectations and never made a profit
  • Waco Extension
  • • 1888-91 - Constructed from Yoakum to Waco for a distance of 170.4 miles
    • 1888 - Construction began from Waco to the south and from Yoakum to the north
    • Feb. 1889 - 28 miles were completed from Waco to Lott (named after U. Lott)
    • Dec. 1889 - 85 miles were completed from Yoakum to Lexington
    • July 14, 1890 - The railroad was forced into receivership
    • The receivers authorized completion of the line from Lott to Lexington
    • June 1891 - The remaining 58 miles were completed, closing the gap in the line
    • Nov. 6, 1891 - Regular train service began between Yoakum and Waco
  • Rockport Branch
  • • 1888 - Constructed from Gregory to Rockport for a distance of 21.0 miles
    • Later connected with the Aransas Pass Harbor Terminal Railroad at Aransas Pass
    • This line was always considered to be a branch
  • Alice Branch
  • • 1888 - Constructed from Skidmore to Alice for a distance of 43.0 miles
    • Connected with the Texas Mexican Railway in Alice
  • Lockhart (Austin) Branch
  • • 1889 - Constructed from Shiner (Austin Junction) to Lockhart for a distance of 53.8 miles
    • Line was planned to reached Austin but was never built past Lockhart
• THE SA&AP AND THE SP
• • Financial Problems
  • • 1890 - The railroad was having financial problems after its rapid expansion
    • Employees were being paid in script
    • Jan. 2, 1890 - The Lavaca River bridge failed as a freight train passed over the flooding river - the entire train was lost
    • The resulting lawsuits only added to the railroad’s financial problems
  • SA&AP Forced into Receivership
  • • July 14, 1890 -The railroad was forced into receivership
    • Benjamin Yoakum and J. S. McNamara were appointed receivers
    • Kenedy held most of the stock in the SA&AP from his contract to build the railroad
    • Kenedy proposed a plan where the Southern Pacific would acquire most of his stock
    • Kenedy’s plan was approved by the receivers and by the court
    • June 16, 1892 - The receivership was terminated and the line was acquired by the Southern Pacific
  • SP Takes Control of the SA&AP
  • • The SP did not integrate the SA&AP into its system
    • Most of the SA&AP’s new officers were SP employees
    • This arrangement overlooked the SP’s new control of a “parallel and competing line” in violation of the Texas Constitution at the time
  • First Attempt to the Rio Grande Valley
  • • 1903 - The SP wanted to extend the SA&AP into the Rio Grande Valley and started plans for extending the Alice Branch
    • The Frisco-Rock Island Railroad also had similar plans to reach the Valley
    • 1903 - Benjamin Yoakum, by this time a Vice President and General Manager of the Frisco-Rock Island Railroad, complained about the illegal control of the SA&AP by the SP
    • March 1903 - The Railroad Commission of Texas sued the SP to force it to give up control of the SA&AP
  • SP Forced to Sell the SA&AP
  • • The SP lost the suit and was forced to sell its majority share of the SA&AP
    • The SP sold its stock to others friendly to the SP and thus was able to appointment management of the SA&AP
    • The SP continued to control the SA&AP, but more indirectly
  • Extension Stops at Falfurrias
  • • 1904 -The SA&AP proceeded with plans to build the extension to the Valley
    • The extension was stopped when grading was completed 14 miles south of Falfurrias
    • Rail was placed only to Falfurrias
    • The extension added 36.5 miles to the original Alice Branch
  • The Dalsa Cutoff
  • • The SP needed a shorter route between the Dallas and San Antonio lines to avoid Houston
    • 1914 - A cutoff was created using track rights over the SA&AP from Flatonia to Giddings, then building new track from Giddings to Stone City, and then finally acquiring the Hearne & Brazos Valley Railway from Stone City to Hearne
  • The Port of Corpus Christi
  • • 1922 - The River & Harbors Act provided for the construction of the Port of Corpus Christi
    • A bascule bridge was built at the entrance of the Port to carry SA&AP rail traffic and auto traffic
    • Sept. 14, 1924 - The Port opened
  • SP Formally Acquires SA&AP
  • • Over the years, the rules changed regarding the control of other rail lines
    • 1924 - SP applied to the ICC to acquire the SA&AP and lease it to the SP controlled GH&SA Railway
    • March 25, 1925 - The application was approved by the ICC
    • April 8, 1925 - The SA&AP was leased to the GH&SA, effectively ending the SA&AP
• THE GH&SA YEARS
• • 1925-26
  • • Former SA&AP mains were down graded to secondary status
    • • 1926 - Tower 2 was retired and the crossing was removed in San Antonio
      • July 31, 1926 - The SP was authorized to extend SA&AP from Falfurrias to the Rio Grande Valley (Brownsville)
    • GH&SA Extension to the Valley
    • • 1927 - The McAllen Line was completed adding 72.6 miles to the Falfurrias Branch
      • 1927 - The Brownsville Line (from Edinburg) was completed adding 62.5 miles to the Falfurrias Branch
      • Both lines were built by the GH&SA using the charter of the SA&AP
    • March 1,1927 - SP consolidated various companies, including the SA&AP, by lease to the Texas & New Orleans Railroad (T&NO)
• THE T&NO YEARS
• • 1920's
  • • 1929 - CTC (11.3 miles) was installed from Beeville to Skidmore - the first on SP Atlantic Lines
  • 1930's
  • • 1930 - the SP considered a plan to extend the Kerrville Branch to San Angelo
    • 1931 - Tower 40 was retired and the crossing was removed in Luling
    • 1932 - Gonzales to Luling and Shiner to Gonzales was abandoned (1.5 miles in Gonzales was kept in service)
    • June 30, 1934 - The SP merged various companies, including the SA&AP, into the T&NO
    • 1934 - Cuero to 3.4 miles west of Cuero line was abandoned when traffic was rerouted over the parallel ex-GH&SA line
  • 1940's & 1950's
  • • 1942 - Luling to Lockhart line was abandoned
    • 1959 - Giddings to Cameron line was abandoned
    • 1959 - Sheridan to Yoakum line was abandoned
  • 1960's
  • • 1960 - Corpus Christi yard and the infamous bascule bridge were abandoned when the Harbor Bridge was built
    • November 1,1961 - T&NO was merged into the SP
• THE SP YEARS
• • 1960's
  • • 1964 - Kenedy to Yorktown line was abandoned
    • 1964 - Altair to Sheridan line was abandoned
    • 1965 - Portland to Corpus Christi line was abandoned when traffic was rerouted over the Missouri Pacific Railroad
    • 1967 - Waco to Rosebud line was abandoned
  • 1970's
  • • 1970 - Camp Stanley to Kerrville line was abandoned
    • 1972 - Cuero to Yorktown line was abandoned
    • 1978 - Rosebud to Quinif (near Cameron) line was abandoned
  • 1980's
  • • 1980 - Traffic to the Valley was rerouted over the Missouri Pacific Railroad
    • 1980 - Skidmore to Alice line was abandoned (0.8 miles in Mathis were sold to the Missouri Pacific Railroad)
    • 1980 - Falfurrias to Edinburg line (GH&SA extension) was abandoned
    • 1981 - CTC between Beeville and Skidmore was retired
    • 1983 - Gregory to Portland line was abandoned
    • 1984 - Cameron to Quinif line was sold to the Sante Fe Railroad
    • 1984 - Alice to Falfurrias line was abandoned (1.6 miles in Alice were sold to Texas Mexican Railway)
    • 1985 - Kosmos to Rockport line was abandoned
    • Feb. 1987 - Kenedy to Beeville line was removed from service due to the destruction of the Medio Creek Bridge by a derailed unit ore train
  • 1990's
  • • 1992 - Houston to Eagle Lake line (Bellaire Line) was sold to Houston Metro
    • 1993 - Kenedy to Beeville line was abandoned
    • 1994 - Elmendorf to Kenedy line was abandoned
    • 1996 - Beeville to Sinton line was abandoned
    • September 1996 - The SP was merged into the UP
• THE UP YEARS
• • 2000's
  • • 2001 - Houston to Eagle Lake line was abandoned but the UP kept a short section from Eagle Lake to Chesterville in service
    • 2002 - Beckman to Camp Stanley line was abandoned

Sources:

"A History of the Texas Railroads", S. G. Reed, 1941.
"Gringo Builders", J. L. Allhands, 1931.
"Uriah Lott", J. L. Allhands, 1949.
"The San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway", John W. Hedge & Geoffery S. Dawson, 1983.
"The Southern Pacific Guide - Texas and Lousiana Lines", David Bernstein, 1995.

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Last Revised: 11/17/2007