Nostalgia & History > Fort Worth & Denver South Plains Information

Hi guys, I'm looking for information on the old Fort Worth & Denver South Plains Railway that operated in the Texas Panhandle. I believe it was a subsidiary of the Fort Worth & Denver and later merged into the parent company sometime in the 1950s(?). I'm looking for any info on operations, traffic, motive power, and any other interesting history pertaining to this line. I've got a couple of books on the Colorado & Southern/Fort Worth & Denver, but they have little to nothing on the South Plains. It seems a line with one of the only tunnels in the state of Texas would have more info, but maybe I just haven't looked in the right place. This forum seems like the best place to look if there's any to be had.

Thanks!

Dakota

Didn't know there were any railroad tunnels on TX?
JB

Yep, the South Plains crossed a pretty rugged portion of the Llano Estacado and a tunnel was cut through the mesa near Quitaque. The railroad was abandoned in the late 1980s(?), and much of it turned into the Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway. The tunnel remains and you can still walk through it today.

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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/06/20 12:25 by DDavidson1994.

There is another just east of Fredericksburg, also now a state park.

San Antonio to Fredericksburg railroad was called Fredericksburg & Northern


3rdswitch Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Didn't know there were any railroad tunnels on
> TX?
> JB

Off The Main Lines by Don Hofsommer has several pages on Ft, Worth & Denver Texas, Panhandle lines.  Available from Indiana Press.  Also good coverage of Quanah, Acme & Pacific and Santa Fe in the Panhandle.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/06/20 15:13 by millerdc.

"Railroads of the Texas Panhandle" by F. Stanley would be one resource.
Rare book though and typically expensive.

S.G. Reed's book "History of the Texas Railroads" is another resource.

The FW&DSP had two tunnels--only one of which still exists along a state park trail near Quitaque TX.

Texas had 6 railroad tunnels at one time:  2 along the GH&SA (SP), 2 along the FW&DSP, 1 along the
F&N (now a bat preserve in the Hill Country), and 1 along the RGN in far West Texas.

Here's a blog that documents the current Caprock Canyon Trailway along the former FW&DSP right of way:
http://travelsofaramblingvan.blogspot.com/2016/12/two-wheeling-caprock-canyons-trailway.html
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/06/20 19:39 by PVSfan.