The Railroads of San Antonio and South Central Texas

$18.95
(softcover)

112 pages, 8 1/2 x 11 inches, 123 illustrations, 8 maps, bibliography, index

As Toyota scouted the nation in 2002 for a new plant location, a San Antonio site�s proximity to two rail lines clinched the decision. It was the city�s greatest economic breakthrough in recent years. Of even greater effect was arrival of the first railroad a century and a quarter earlier, launching the region�s first major growth.

These are among the landmark events outlined in The Railroads of San Antonio and South Central Texas, the first general interest book to sort out the regional operations and impact of seven rail lines: the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio/Southern Pacific; International & Great Northern/Missouri Pacific; San Antonio & Aransas Pass; San Antonio & Gulf Shore/San Antonio & Gulf; Missouri�Kansas�Texas; Artesian Belt/San Antonio Southern; and the San Antonio, Uvalde & Gulf. There is a closing chapter on Amtrak and the Union Pacific.

Written by Hugh Hemphill, longtime director of the Texas Transportation Museum in San Antonio, this lavishly-illustrated book is vital to understanding the evolution of an important link in the nation�s transportation system.

Included are five appendices that codify data, ranging from an index of towns and the railroads serving them to a listing of surviving depots to a summary of regional railroad museums and tourist railroads.

Before construction of the railroads, there were practically no towns south of San Antonio to Laredo or southeast to Corpus Christi. To the west, Castroville was the jumping-off point into a vast, mostly unpopulated region. . . . Land was sold along the route to large numbers of immigrants from Europe. Natural locations for towns were train stops beside the periodic water tanks needed to replenish steam-powered locomotives. � from the text by Hugh Hemphill

Maverick Publishing Company
P. O. Box 6355, San Antonio, Texas 78209
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