Nostalgia & History > In the heart of Dallas

The original main line of the Texas & Pacific was right through the heart of downtown Dallas,  what is now called Pacific Ave since T&P agreed to give up the right of way for a more southerly route to Ft Worth.   In those old days the tracks aligned straight on to the  double track Trinity River Bridge from Pacific Ave and there was no Dallas Union Terminal.

The attached picture was made in the 1920's.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/11/18 20:39 by tomstp.

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Thanks for sharing the photo and explanation of how the T&P routed through Dallas.  I knew that they had used a different routing at one time, but didn't know they went down Pacific Ave.
 

Fascinating. I knew from my study of Texas history that the T&P ran down Pacific Ave in Dallas, but I never saw a photo of it. Thanks for sharing. --Kelly

Great piece of RR history! Wow...

Lance/199

Cool shot!

When I was living there in the 1980s, you could stll see a noticeable gap in the skyline of Downtown Dallas, when viewed from from the nearby Katy yard.  A local railfan told me that that gap had once carried the MOP mainline through town, prior to relocation.

Nice to see what it looked like.  Thanks for posting.

Anyone know about what year the line relocation was implemented?

I did some more checking and was able to find more information.  The city fathers of Dallas convinced the railroads to build a belt line around Dallas to get rid of through trains in the heart of the city   near 1918-1920.   A depot did exist on the site of Dallas Union Terminal in 1918. So my statement that DUT did not exist was wrong.  T&P built a new portion of the line on the east side of town  to the H&TC Jct.  and moved into the station and  the southerly belt  trackage. About 1922 the double track line on Pacific Ave still existed but was down graded to local switching  status but remained in the the street for the businesses  served by it.but connected to the T&P main line west of it.  As late as the late 1960's a small portion of that track remained for some warehouses and a small engine terminal.  Today none exists.

Several miles of he line were torn up back east to within a few hundred yards of today's Texas State Fairgrounds (Fair Park). There was a roundhouse and turntable in that area.  The roundhouse and turntable were still there in the late 1970's but are now  gone.  That trackage also served a Ford auto factory and connected back east a few miles. There were many industrial customers for T&P in that area. For decades T&P had a track in the fair grounds and displayed its equipment during the State Fair.  It was also the place where T&P 2-10-4 # 638 was placed on display.     And, still the double track bridge over the Trinity River aligns with Pacific Ave.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/12/18 16:14 by tomstp.

The was the old Depot of the H&TC and T&P at a location which is now Central Expressway and Pacific Ave. on the east side of downtown.

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tomstp Wrote:
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> I did some more checking and was able to find more
> information.  

Thanks, I appreciate the detailed info.

IIRC in the same relocation the Houston &Texas Central (SP) was relocated from Central Ave (st Blvd?) to the Belt Line

Posted from iPhone

Here is a picture of Pacific Avenue with a T&P train whizzing through in 1917.  Everyone got out of the way not only to avoid being hit but, also not be showered with coal soot.  Frank Rogers captured the scene.

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