The Railroad in Texas
Texas Railroads Before the Civil War
There were no railroads in Texas before 1850 and no other reliable
transportation either. Roads were few and in poor repair. Many Texans
lived along rivers or near the Gulf Coast. Steamboats carried people up and
down major rivers, such as the Red and Rio Grande, but most were too
shallow for year-round use.
Transportation barriers made it difficult for the Texas economy to
grow. Sending goods to market was slow and expensive. Some Texans saw
the railroads providing fast, reliable transportation in other parts of the U.S.
and thought railroads could be a solution for Texas.
In 1851, work began on the first successful Texas rail line near
Houston. Wealthy investors provided the money and the first trains rolled
out in 1853. This 20 mile track was only the second track west of the
Mississippi River. By 1861, nine railroads operated in Texas.
Why was transportation difficult in Texas before the
railroads?
The Expansion of the Railroads
Railroad construction slowed during the Civil War (when workers left
to fight in the war) but resumed when the war ended. By 1900 more than
10,000 miles of track crossed Texas. By 1911, Texas had more miles of
railroad than any other state.
Building railroads was expensive so investors from other states
provided some of the money while cities and counties sold bonds to raise
money. Bonds are certificates that promise to repay the amount paid for
them plus interest after a specific period of time. Railroads also received tax
breaks that allowed them to pay few or no taxes.
The biggest incentive offered to railroad builders was land grants. A
land grant is a block of public land that a government gives to a business,
school or other organization. The recipient of the land grant could either use
the land or sell it to make money. Some Texans thought the state gave away
too much land. In 1869, Texas abolished land grants.
In the 1880’s companies from other states bought several Texas
railroads and linked the rail lines to a national system of railroads. The
Southern Pacific Railroad became one of the most important railroad
companies in Texas. In 1883, southern Pacific completed the second rail
line to stretch from one side of the United States to other. This was
accomplished by joining tracks that started on the West Coast with tracks
that started on the East Coast. The two tracks met in Texas.
Define bond—
Define land grant—
How did the government help build railroads in Texas?
Railroads Change Texas
People from many different ethnic groups came to Texas to work on
the railroads. Many of the workers who remained in Texas were Irish. In
the 1870’s, Chinese railroad workers began arriving in Texas. These
workers faced racism, even from the law.
Some railroad companies sent brochures to people in other states to
promote Texas. The companies hoped to sell their land grants to these
people. The building of rail lines in the western parts of the state convinced
some people to move there. Some of the railroads’ brochures were not
entirely truthful.
Commercial mining for coal began in the 1880’s but Texas coal was
poor in quality and not suitable for fuel. It was used by the railroads for
their engines.
The spread of railroads in Texas reduced travel time. While it took
more than a day to make a 35 mile trip out of Houston by stagecoach the
train made the same trip in less than 2 hours.
Many towns sprang up along rail lines. The railroads also helped
existing cities and towns to grow. Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, and San
Antonio all prospered after rail lines connected them to other cities. They
became important centers of trade.
Why did cities want to attract railroads?
Problems with the Railroad
Despite boosting the population and the economy, the rail lines also
brought new problems.
Texas farmers claimed that railroad prices were too high. Because
railroads had no competition, they could charge what they wanted for
passage or to ship goods. Farmers needed the railroads to ship goods to
markets but with crop prices falling and shipping prices rising farmers
experienced an economic crisis. Many farmers disagreed with the
government giving large land grants to the railroad companies.
Railroad companies held great power in Texas. They paid bribes to
lawmakers to prevent them from passing laws that would lower railroad
profits. Also, a town without a rail line faced ruin. Railroad companies used
the threat of economic ruin to force towns to provide money, tax breaks, and
other benefits in exchange for a rail connection.
At first the government did not regulate the railroad companies.
Texans soon felt that the greed of those running the Texas railroads harmed
their state.
What were some of the problems with the railroads in Texas?