Anyone know about “haunted” tracks in the area of San Antonio, TX?
Do some of the abandoned rights-of-way around the city seem to resonate with horns and whistles after midnight?
Actually, I wish that I really could see some of the now-gone lines working again, like the SP Kerrville branch, the Texas Transportation electric line to the Pearl Brewery (which I understand is history), the switching line into Lackland AFB, and some of the old Katy facilities.
Ah, the things that aren’t appreciated until they’re gone!
Here is an informative site about San Antonio’s so-called haunted grade crossing.
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/ghosts/handprint.asp
Regards
It is where Villamain Rd becomes Shane Rd.
I have been accross that grade crossing several times, and can tell you there is nothing to this whole thing. Many of drunk teenagers will tell you something is going on, though. I don’t know what all is in the Snopes write up, but the streets in that area were named for the children of the original developers, not the names of children killed in an accident that never happened. There was never any such wreck at that grade crossing involving a school bus. And with the hand prints, take a look at car trunks and hatches when they get dirty. You will see handprints all over the place.
As far as the Texas Transportation Company goes, the tracks and overhead have been removed. That was a sad day to see that go. I remember as a kid getting to see the old electrics chugging along with a single boxcar down the middle of the street. We also took the streetcar ride when TTM was still down at the brewery.
Lackland AFB never had much for rail service. Kelly AFB, on the other hand, had quite an extensive rail network. All that trackage is gone now (although there may be bits and pieces of it scattered about).
Texas Transportation Co.
I spent nearly a year in San Antonio (for our Uncle Sam) and didn’t know about Texas Transportation until I was driving around the city (during 1970) and just happened upon it. What a find!
Even if you weren’t a fan of Pearl Beer, seeing the TT would make any railfan appreciate the brewery. It is a sad loss indeed.
Lackland’s trackage was minimal, but at that time the USAF kept a very tidy-looking GE center-cab (44-ton, I think) parked on the base. Somewhere, I have pictures.
Appearantly they served more than just Pearl. There was some trackage going into the CPS yard (City Public Service; electric utility for San Antonio), a small spur to a warhouse, and a couple of other things I can’t recall at the moment. From what I was told, the Mikado that used to sit at the park along that line (now sitting at the ex Southern Pacific depot) was moved to the park under it’s own power on the TT trackage.
For all of you talking about the brewery tain,didnt Pearl Brewery own it at one time?
I have a photo cd with pics of an electric engine that has the Brewery logo on it and others that show TT company,both taken at the brewery…
Yes, it was owned by the brewery, but I cannot recall all the ownership specifics throughout the history of that line. The locomotives are still around, and there was talk of the Texas Transportation Museum getting one of them. They didn’t own any equipment other than the locomotives, though.
I will have to find it again, but I came across some memoirs that a brewery employee wrote up, recalling days of sitting in the boxcars and drinking beer while on the job, and dealing with switching the cars. It was a really neat piece.
Hi all. I found your discussion about Texas Transportation Company (AAR reporting marks TXTC) through my regular Google search looking for info on the old company. I’ve spent the past three years researching the Pearl Brewing Company, so I’ve came across quite a bit of info on TXTC.
The line was always owned by Pearl, which was formally known as the San Antonio Brewing Association. Even after Southdown, General Brewing, S&P Corporation, and Pabst came into the picture, the rail was still owned and operated by Pearl. For most of it’s life the line was electric, for a few years in the late 1880s when they first started TXTC was powered by horses and mules. TXTC closed in 2001 when Pabst closed the Pearl Brewery, and in 2003/2004 the lines to the Southern Pacific junction were torn up.
As for service, TXTC did service CPS Energy a little, the lines ran right next to their office on Jones Ave., but the bulk of their work was the brewery. Prior to Prohibition, TXTC also service the Lone Star Brewery, when their brewery was on Jones Ave. The old Lone Star Brewery is now the San Antonio Museum of Art.
The last two engines used by TXTC are still around. They were bought by Silver Ventures when they bought the old Pearl Brewery. Engine #2 has been completely restored, down to every single nut and bolt, and now sits on the brewery grounds on display. Engine #1 is sitting in storage, awaiting an eventual restoration.
If you guys would like to know more, just let me know. I can blab on for days about Pearl & TXTC. [swg]
Oh, I forgot to mention, if anyone has photos or information about the Texas Transportation Company, I’d love to hear from you.
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Hi Smitty. I’ve seen the building you’re talking about, but I have no idea what it is. The short spur you’re talking about can still be seen in the street. They’ve pulled up the rails, but the city hasn’t repaved the area in years, instead they just filled in where the tracks were all along the line. The building still has its train platform, but since the rail line’s removal they’ve added rubber truck stop bumpers to the front of it. I come home that way sometimes, and whatever business that is, they’ve regularly got semi-trucks backed up to the platform with the truck taking up most of Jones Ave.
You’ve got my interest sparked on what that place is now though. Bexar County tax records show that property being owned by 1101 Broadway LP, a sub-company of Cross & Company who a is big San Antonio commercial realestate company. I’ll do some digging to see what I can find out. Hell, if nothing else I’ll stop by there one day and ask them.
Yeah, I am originally from that area (bounced around between Schertz and New Braunfels). I was a volunteer out at the Texas Transportation Museum for many years.
It looks like at most, the TTC had at least 3 customers throughout the years. It sure would have been interesting to see them working everybody at their peak. Please let me know what you dig up. I have always had a particular fondness for that railroad, although there doesn’t seem to be a lot of info on it out there. I guess as small and specialized as it was, I shouldn’t expect to find much.
Here is a link to the Wikipedia page I mentioned. The article needs a lot of work, but at least they’ve got a start.
I spoke to a friend of mine in SA to see if he knows of any info on the Texas Transportation Company (he is the curator of the Texas Transportation Museum). He gave me the name of a member that I know that worked for Pearl, and if anybody has any info on the rail operations, he would. I am going to contact him in regards to this, and if everything is kosher, I will give you his contact info.
That would be great if you could set something up like that. Even if it’s just emailing the guy back and forth, it’d be good to get some of TXTC’s history down and out there on the web.