St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway
Encyclopedia
The St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico Railway was a 200-mile (321 km) railroad that operated from Brownsville, Texas
to Gulf Coast Junction in Houston. It passed through small southeast Texas communities such as Robstown, Corpus Christi
, Bay City
, and Harlingen
as well as the Rio Grande Valley
.
. Reviewing on his successes with the Corpus Christi, San Diego and Rio Grande Narrow Gauge Railroad from March 1875, Uriah sought his business partner Benjamin Franklin Yoakum
to create a rail system that reached Chicago
, Illinois
in the North and Mexico City
, Mexico
in the south. With Yoakum in control of two railroads that he was president, (the Chicago, Rock Island, & Pacific and the St. Louis - San Francisco -- commonly known as 'the Frisco') he used them to create several railroads within Texas
and Louisiana
as a system (the Gulf Coast Lines
) reaching Chicago
in the north and Mexico City
in the south. The first stage of this project, the St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico Railway, was chartered on 6 June 1903. Its first segment of track was completed on 4 July 1904, running from Brownsville, Texas
, to Robstown, Texas
. A second major segment, running from Robstown to Sinton
to Houston segment was completed on 31 December 1907. Yoakum's second project began in October 1903 when the Beaumont, Sour Lake, & Western
was chartered to serve the Beaumont
area after discoveries of oil prompted revenue. Yoakum's third and final project was the New Orleans, Texas & Mexico Railway. The NOT&M created a line from Anchorage, Louisiana to DeQuincy, Louisiana
on 1 September 1909. To connect with the Beaumont, Sour Lake, & Western trackage rights were issued from the Kansas City Southern between DeQuincy and Beaumont.
Before the Gulf Coast Lines
were purchased from the Missouri Pacific Railroad
in 1925, the company managed to purchase eight other smaller railroads to further enlarge the rail system. Three of these lines were the San Benito & Rio Grande Valley Railway, San Antonio, Chapin & Rio Grande Railway and the Rio Grande Valley Railway (Later the Port Isabel & Rio Grande Valley Railway) which created the Rio Grande Valley Spider Web Rail Network; the first of its kind anywhere which linked almost all small to large cities together in the Valley.
Yoakum's dream came to an end when the Frisco and the Rock Island entered receivership in 1913. Upon hearings of the ICC, the court ordered the receivers to sell off Yoakum's projects to recuperate the lost profits or face abandonment. Once the receivership ended in 1916, the NOT&M assumed control of the Gulf Coast Lines
in 1913 and established itself as the independent-parent company of the GCL until 1925.
In April 1923, Lewis W. Baldwin became president of the Missouri Pacific and in December 1924, he expressed an interest of the Gulf Coast Lines and acquired it (which also included the recently-purchased International - Great Northern from six months earlier). Thus the Gulf Coast Lines now became a part of the Missouri Pacific banner as well as one of the earliest accomplishments by Baldwin himself, now making the Gulf Coast Lines as the Gulf Coast Lines Division. With this occurring, most of the Gulf Coast Lines
locomotive equipment was simply painted black with Aluminum "MISSOURI PACIFIC LINES" lettering and submarks below the cab numbers gave the GCL it's identity.
The Missouri Pacific declared bankruptcy in 1933, during the Great Depression
, and entered into trusteeship; the longest of its kind in North American history. The company was reorganized with the termination of the trusteeship by the United States District Court of St. Lous and on 1 March 1956, the subsidiaries of Missouri Pacific (including the St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico as well as the Gulf Coast Lines) were merged away under the presidency of Paul J. Neff. Only the Missouri-Illinois
and the Texas & Pacific Railway continued to exist as separate subsidiaries.
Brownsville, Texas
Brownsville is a city in the southernmost tip of the state of Texas, in the United States. It is located on the northern bank of the Rio Grande, directly north and across the border from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Brownsville is the 16th largest city in the state of Texas with a population of...
to Gulf Coast Junction in Houston. It passed through small southeast Texas communities such as Robstown, Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...
, Bay City
Bay City, Texas
Bay City is a city in Matagorda County, Texas, United States. The population was 18,667 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Matagorda County. The current mayor is Mark Bricker.-Geography:Bay City is located at...
, and Harlingen
Harlingen, Texas
Harlingen is a city in Cameron County in the heart of the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas, United States, about from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The city covers more than , and is the second largest city in Cameron County and the sixth largest in the Rio Grande Valley...
as well as the Rio Grande Valley
Rio Grande Valley
The Rio Grande Valley or the Lower Rio Grande Valley, informally called The Valley, is an area located in the southernmost tip of South Texas...
.
History
Uriah Lott envisioned a plan of utilizing land transportation along the interior of TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. Reviewing on his successes with the Corpus Christi, San Diego and Rio Grande Narrow Gauge Railroad from March 1875, Uriah sought his business partner Benjamin Franklin Yoakum
Benjamin Franklin Yoakum
Benjamin Franklin Yoakum was a visionary railroad executive of the late 19th and early 20th centuries who attempted to join the Frisco and Rock Island Railroads into a great system stretching from Chicago to Mexico...
to create a rail system that reached Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
in the North and Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
in the south. With Yoakum in control of two railroads that he was president, (the Chicago, Rock Island, & Pacific and the St. Louis - San Francisco -- commonly known as 'the Frisco') he used them to create several railroads within Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
as a system (the Gulf Coast Lines
Gulf Coast Lines
The Gulf Coast Lines was the name of a railroad system comprising three principal railroads, as well as some smaller ones, that stretched from New Orleans, Louisiana via Baton Rouge and Houston to Brownsville, Texas...
) reaching Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in the north and Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
in the south. The first stage of this project, the St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico Railway, was chartered on 6 June 1903. Its first segment of track was completed on 4 July 1904, running from Brownsville, Texas
Brownsville, Texas
Brownsville is a city in the southernmost tip of the state of Texas, in the United States. It is located on the northern bank of the Rio Grande, directly north and across the border from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Brownsville is the 16th largest city in the state of Texas with a population of...
, to Robstown, Texas
Robstown, Texas
Robstown is a city in Nueces County, Texas, United States, and a western suburb of Corpus Christi. It was founded about 1906, and was named for Robert Driscoll Jr., a landowner...
. A second major segment, running from Robstown to Sinton
Sinton, Texas
Sinton is a city in San Patricio County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,676 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of San Patricio County...
to Houston segment was completed on 31 December 1907. Yoakum's second project began in October 1903 when the Beaumont, Sour Lake, & Western
Beaumont, Sour Lake and Western Railway
The Beaumont, Sour Lake and Western Railway was an railroad that ran from Beaumont, Texas to Gulf Coast Junction in Houston. It passed through small southeast Texas communities such as Hull, Kenefick, and Huffman...
was chartered to serve the Beaumont
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
area after discoveries of oil prompted revenue. Yoakum's third and final project was the New Orleans, Texas & Mexico Railway. The NOT&M created a line from Anchorage, Louisiana to DeQuincy, Louisiana
DeQuincy, Louisiana
DeQuincy is the northernmost city in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,398 at the 2000 census. DeQuincy is part of the Lake Charles Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:DeQuincy is located at ....
on 1 September 1909. To connect with the Beaumont, Sour Lake, & Western trackage rights were issued from the Kansas City Southern between DeQuincy and Beaumont.
Before the Gulf Coast Lines
Gulf Coast Lines
The Gulf Coast Lines was the name of a railroad system comprising three principal railroads, as well as some smaller ones, that stretched from New Orleans, Louisiana via Baton Rouge and Houston to Brownsville, Texas...
were purchased from the Missouri Pacific Railroad
Missouri Pacific Railroad
The Missouri Pacific Railroad , also known as the MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers, including the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway , Texas and Pacific...
in 1925, the company managed to purchase eight other smaller railroads to further enlarge the rail system. Three of these lines were the San Benito & Rio Grande Valley Railway, San Antonio, Chapin & Rio Grande Railway and the Rio Grande Valley Railway (Later the Port Isabel & Rio Grande Valley Railway) which created the Rio Grande Valley Spider Web Rail Network; the first of its kind anywhere which linked almost all small to large cities together in the Valley.
Yoakum's dream came to an end when the Frisco and the Rock Island entered receivership in 1913. Upon hearings of the ICC, the court ordered the receivers to sell off Yoakum's projects to recuperate the lost profits or face abandonment. Once the receivership ended in 1916, the NOT&M assumed control of the Gulf Coast Lines
Gulf Coast Lines
The Gulf Coast Lines was the name of a railroad system comprising three principal railroads, as well as some smaller ones, that stretched from New Orleans, Louisiana via Baton Rouge and Houston to Brownsville, Texas...
in 1913 and established itself as the independent-parent company of the GCL until 1925.
In April 1923, Lewis W. Baldwin became president of the Missouri Pacific and in December 1924, he expressed an interest of the Gulf Coast Lines and acquired it (which also included the recently-purchased International - Great Northern from six months earlier). Thus the Gulf Coast Lines now became a part of the Missouri Pacific banner as well as one of the earliest accomplishments by Baldwin himself, now making the Gulf Coast Lines as the Gulf Coast Lines Division. With this occurring, most of the Gulf Coast Lines
Gulf Coast Lines
The Gulf Coast Lines was the name of a railroad system comprising three principal railroads, as well as some smaller ones, that stretched from New Orleans, Louisiana via Baton Rouge and Houston to Brownsville, Texas...
locomotive equipment was simply painted black with Aluminum "MISSOURI PACIFIC LINES" lettering and submarks below the cab numbers gave the GCL it's identity.
The Missouri Pacific declared bankruptcy in 1933, during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, and entered into trusteeship; the longest of its kind in North American history. The company was reorganized with the termination of the trusteeship by the United States District Court of St. Lous and on 1 March 1956, the subsidiaries of Missouri Pacific (including the St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico as well as the Gulf Coast Lines) were merged away under the presidency of Paul J. Neff. Only the Missouri-Illinois
Missouri–Illinois Railroad
The Missouri–Illinois Railroad was a railroad that operated in Missouri and Illinois. The railroad operated around of track on both sides of the Mississippi River, connected by a train ferry. It began operations in 1921, and was owned by the Missouri Pacific Railroad and operated as a subsidiary...
and the Texas & Pacific Railway continued to exist as separate subsidiaries.