Columbus, San Antonio and Rio Grande Railroad
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| Columbus, San Antonio & Rio Grande Railroad | |
|---|---|
| Reporting marks | CSA&RG |
| Locale | San Antonio, Texas–Columbus, Texas |
| Dates of operation | 1858–1870 |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge)5 ft 6 in (1676 mm) (broad gauge) |
| Headquarters | San Antonio, Texas |
The Columbus, San Antonio and Rio Grande Railroad (CSA&RG) was an early Texas railroad. Chartered by the state in 1858, it merged with the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos & Colorado Railroad (BBB&C) to form the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railway in 1870.
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[edit] Formation and charter
Railroads were begun in Texas in the 1850s with railheads on the gulf coast running inland.[1] As the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos & Colorado Railroad completed its track-laying near Columbus, Texas, investors gathered to form a new company to extend tracks further into the interior of Texas. William Harbert, Andrew M. Campbell, George W. Smith [2] and Gustav Schleicher[3] intended to extend the railroad from the Colorado River to San Antonio and beyond.
The Columbus, San Antonio and Rio Grande Railroad was chartered by the Texas legislature on February 16, 1858. The charter granted the new company the right to build track from Columbus through Gonzales and San Antonio all the way to the Rio Grande River. The legislature, in the charter, imposed strict deadlines on the company: two years to begin building track and four years to finish 25 miles. The railroad was unable to meet the standards and the legislature subsequently extended the deadlines on February 8, 1860, granting an additional year to begin building track.[4]
[edit] Civil War and disruption
According to R. A. Thompson, Engineer of the Texas Railroad Commission, "The blighting effects of the Civil War were felt by the railroads perhaps more than by any other kind of enterprise, and during the financial depression extending particularly from 1862 to 1869, building practically ceased."[5] In fact, the CSA&RG did not lay any tracks before or during the war.[6]
On August 28, 1868, the legislature amended the charter of the Columbus, San Antonio and Rio Grande Railroad to allow it to commence its rail line at Gonzales, or some other point on the as yet unbuilt rail line of the Indianola and Austin Railroad, rather than at Columbus.[7]
[edit] Merger and closing
In 1870, with the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos & Colorado Railroad having completed its link from Galveston to Columbus, but finding itself out of money,[8] the legislature approved a merger of the CSA&RG and the BBB&C. This allowed the latter enterprise to take over the authority to build track into San Antonio and points west, rather than to serve Austin.[9] The resulting company was named the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railway.
[edit] References
- ^ Russell Crump's Archive, The Splinters
- ^ [http://www.columbustexas.net/library/history/part5.htm Stein, Bill. Consider the Lily: The Ungilded History of Colorado County, Texas. Nesbitt Memorial Library, Columbus, Texas.]
- ^ Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association
- ^ [http://www.columbustexas.net/library/history/part5.htm Stein, Bill. Consider the Lily: The Ungilded History of Colorado County, Texas. Nesbitt Memorial Library, Columbus, Texas.]
- ^ Russell Crump's Archive, The Splinters quoting remarks of R. A. Thompson, engineer of the Texas Railroad Commission in remarks to the Texas Academy of Science, December 27-29, 1905.
- ^ [http://www.columbustexas.net/library/history/part5.htm Stein, Bill. Consider the Lily: The Ungilded History of Colorado County, Texas. Nesbitt Memorial Library, Columbus, Texas.]
- ^ Gammel, (compiler) The Laws of Texas 1822-1897, vol. 6, p. 56. (10 volumes; Austin: Gammel Book Company, 1898).
- ^ [http://www.columbustexas.net/library/history/part8.htm Stein, Bill. Consider the Lily: The Ungilded History of Colorado County, Texas. Nesbitt Memorial Library, Columbus, Texas.]
- ^ Russell Crump's Archive, The Splinters quoting remarks of R. A. Thompson, engineer of the Texas Railroad Commission in remarks to the Texas Academy of Science, December 27-29, 1905.
