I’m trying to find information concerning old rail lines around McKinney, Texas. I saw a geophysical map that outlined an old railroad grade that came into McKinney from the East, but I can’t find any other information about it.
I would appreciate any information about any other railroad that may have plied the area around McKinney, Frisco and vacinity.
I would also like to learn the history about the rail line that traveled from McKinney to Allen and Plano Texas.
I would also appreciate any information concerning the interurban that traveled north and south from McKinney.
I would also appreciate any information concerning the interurban that traveled north and south from McKinney.
Road Fan
I assume your speaking of the Texas Electric Rwy that went from Dallas to Denton and Dallas to Waco…The Ft Worth Worth side went from Ft Worth to Denton and Ft Worth to Cleburne…
It parelled the Katy RR from Dallas to Waco…
There is a book on this line thats out of print now, but Ive seen it for sale on several book sites…
Texas Electric Rwy by Johnny Meyers
Johnny worked at Dart for many yrs and is probaly retired by now…
Since I drive by those abandoned road beds (with a melancholy heart) and can still see a concrete abuttment or two along highway 75 between Allen and Plano for both the interurban and the old SP? line, I can only imagine what it must have been like to have seen a big ole steamer trundling up from Dallas or the interurban cruising by.
Some day (there’s is a fantasy floating around) the rails and a modern day interurban will return to the this area, but after 10 years, I won’t hold my breath.
As you may know, DART already owns the right-of-way from Plano to McKinney. The way McKinney has been growing, the “fantasy” may happen sooner than later.
There is an area east of downtown McKinney around an abandoned grain elevator where you can see evidence of railroad tracks. My guess is that this was where the KCS came into town.
Next year hopefully I can enjoy the ride by rail to the Plano Train Show…( my fantasy )It would be really nice to be able to go anywhere in NCT by rail and not have to fight the traffic !
I’ve heard that there is haggling with the town of Allen over their piece of transpostation pie…that is only a rumor I heard so that may not be the actual reason for the tardiness of the extention north to McKinney.
My son and I will travel in and around the ‘old’ sections of McKinney, past the old grain elevators and its abandoned tracks and down to the abandoned cotton mill until we pass the cable manufacturer (I believe that they are the only active rail customer remaining in McKinney). They appear to be pretty rail active with strings of hopper and tank cars at their sight. But the other side of the Airport road, and I may be wrong, seems to be abandoned too.
It’s obvious that McKinney once had a thriving rail presence, but has no more.
My family and I every once and awhile will take a long congested trip down to Dallas to poke around looking for old rail lines- usually around the Baylor hospital area which once had a cobweb of now abandoned and removed rail lines, old rail served businesses and interuban rights of ways (all gone but still visible) or over to Addison, around the old Ford plant area…Addison still has a cobweb of street running spots over there. Both of these areas are very congested though, and exploration is very difficult.
Somehow during my expeditions to Addison my travels will somehow magically turn up at the model train store bt rhe airport- my wife and daughter usually begin crabbing at this point. but they ‘go’ along for the ‘ride’, because experience tells them that we will also end up at a restuarants at the end of it all.
Here is a question that someone may have the some info to fill in with. During my exploration, down in the Carrolton,TX area (around N. Broadway St and Beltline) there is a 90° cross over and several other intersecting ra
Road Fan: Here is a link to the tower that was at Carrolton, Texas. This link goes to the Texas Tower website http://www.towers.txrrhistory.com/077/077.htm and to Tower 77 specifically. My friend Terry Kirkland was the operator at this point starting in November 1974.
Cool…Great link…I sure appreciate it. I’ve saved this to my ‘Railroad’ links for future reference. This tower would make for a great scale diorama or part of someones layout.
I’m sure that the Dallas area had many interlocking towers considering the amount of rail activity that intersected here…have any survived or have they all seccumbed to technoology and the wrecking ball?
I forget which one it was,but the last TWR in Dallas was moved to the Age of Steam Museum and now their moving to FRisco so its probably still out there…Twr 55 in FTWorth is still intact and Twr 3 in Flatonia Tx. is still intact and the city has built a railfan site around it with viewing decks to photo trains !
Danny: Tower 19 is the one at the Age of Steam Museum. I saw it in 2004 while it was still being restored. Tower 16 (Sherman Tower) was moved to Grapevine and is now a part of that historic district. The Texas Towers website gives the history and status of each Tower.