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Texas and Pacific Railway

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Texas and Pacific Railway
Overview
HeadquartersMarshall, Texas
Reporting markTP
LocaleTexas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Arkansas
Dates of operation1871–1976
SuccessorMissouri Pacific

The Texas and Pacific Railway Company (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. 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. Instead, it 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 and Dallas. The warehouse still exists but there are plans to renovate it. The Passenger Terminal and Corporate Offices have been converted into luxury condominiums.

Timeline

Texas & Pacific station and office building in Fort Worth, Texas.
Texas & Pacific Depot in Marshall, Texas.

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 surveyed 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.

Land grants

In the period of 1873 to 1881, the Texas and Pacific constructed a total of 972 miles (1,560 km) of track; as a result of which, it was entitled to land grants totalling 12,441,600 acres (50,349 km²). T&P, however, received land only for the construction of track east of Fort Worth. This meant the firm received only 5,173,120 acres (20,935 km²). The State of Texas did not award the additional area because, it said, the construction had not been completed within the time required by the firm's charter. Indeed, then state Attorney General Charles A. Culberson filed suit to recover 301,893 acres (1,222 km²) on the grounds that "the road had been granted land partly on sidetracks and partly on land not subject to location."[1] The state ultimately recovered 256,046 acres (1,036 km²) giving a net grant to the T&P of 4,917,074 acres (19,899 km²). By comparison, the state of Connecticut is 5,543 square miles (14,356 km²).

Texas Pacific Land Trust

The Texas Pacific Land Trust (NYSE: TPL) was created in 1888 in the wake of the bankruptcy of the T&P in order to provide an efficient and orderly way to sell the railway's land, receiving at the time in excess of 3.5 million acres (14,000 km²). As of 31 December 2006, the Trust was still the largest private land owner in the State of Texas[2], owning the surface estate of 966,392 acres (3,911 km²) spread across 20 counties in the western part of the state. The Trust also generates income from oil & gas royalties through its 1/128 non-participating royalty interest under 85,414 acres (346 km²) and 1/16 non-participating royalty interest under 386,988 acres (1,566 km²).[2]

References

  1. ^ Texas and Pacific Railway from the Handbook of Texas Online
  2. ^ a b Metz, Robert (1998-01-05). "Shaking the Money Tree: Texas Pacific Land Trust… If You Trust Land". Money Talks. Investor Features Syndicate. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
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