The (known as the '''T&P''') was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern
Transcontinental Railroad between
Marshall, Texas and
San Diego, California . The T&P had a significant foothold in Texas by the mid 1880s but construction difficulties delayed westward progress until American financier
Jay Gould acquired an interest in the railroad in 1879. The T&P never reached San Diego but instead met the
Southern Pacific at
Sierra Blanca, Texas in
1881 . The
Missouri Pacific Railroad , also controlled by Gould, leased the T&P from 1881 to 1885 and continued a cooperative relationship with the T&P after the lease ended. Missouri Pacific gained majority ownership of the Texas and Pacific Railway's stock in 1928 but allowed it to continue operation as a separate entity until they were eventually merged on
October 15 1976 .
Several reminders of the Texas and Pacific remain to this day, mainly two towering buildings which help define the southern side of Fort Worth's skyline -- the original station and office tower (pictured below) and a warehouse located immediately to the west. In 2001, the passenger platforms at the T&P station were put into use for the first time in decades as the westernmost terminus for the
Trinity Railway Express , a commuter rail line connecting Fort Worth with Dallas. The warehouse has been abandoned and lies vacant, but the office tower is currently undergoing a conversion into loft apartments.
The Texas and Pacific was unable to finance construction to
San Diego, California , and as a result the
Southern Pacific was able to build from
California to
Sierra Blanca, Texas . In doing so,
Southern Pacific used land designated for, and survyed by Texas and Pacific, in its
Rail Line from
Yuma, Arizona to
El Paso, Texas . This resulted in
Lawsuits , which were settled with agreements to share tracks, and to cooperate in the building of new tracks. Most of the features advantageous to Texas and Pacific were later disallowed by legislation.
The Texas and Pacific received a total of 4,972,974 acres (20,125 km²) of state land through
Land Grants . This was considerably less what was originally allocated, as the railway had failed to construct outside of Texas, for which it would have been entitled to a federal
Land Grant , and the much of the state
Texas land grant was not allocated due to failure to complete construction on time.
- (accessed September 10, 2005)
