The lines in this group are in a category of mostly historical and tourist related entities, most of which most are still in operation.
The Austin Steam Train Association (ASTA) operates several locomotives on tracks that were formerly used by Southern Pacific. This line is called the Austin and Texas Central Railroad. Its headquarters are in Cedar Park. Perhaps its better known historic locomotive was its first unit, Southern Pacific 786. According to the Association’s website, Southern Pacific 786, a steam locomotive, was built by American Locomotive Company in its Brooks Works factory in Dunkirk, New York in 1916. By then the Houston & Texas Central Railway had become a subsidiary of Southern Pacific. The unit was modified several times and operated continuously until 1956, when it was donated to the City of Austin. For thirty-four years it was displayed at Austin Fire Station No. 1 located at the corner of East 5th Street and Trinity, about eight blocks from the State Capitol grounds. The Austin Steam Train Association was incorporated in 1989 and leased the locomotive from the City of Austin shortly afterward. The locomotive was restored and after testing made its first run to Burnet in July, 1992. After running for seven years, it was again taken off line to begin another repair and restoration process. According to the Association website, it is off line and undergoing more work at this time.
A second locomotive is called EMD GP40-3 #3118 and is a diesel-electric locomotive. This unit was originally built for the Penn Central Railroad and quite likely had a lot of freight hauling use before it was acquired. The locomotive changed hands a number of times until it was leased to ASTA in 2017 and later acquired in 2024. It currently runs a majority of the routes offered by ASTA which include the Hill Country Flyer, the Texas Wine Flyer and and Christmas season excursions. One of the rides, called the Hill Country Flyer, is a 6.5 hour journey which makes the 66 mile round trip between Cedar Park and Burnet.
This line is not in operation at this writing, but for several decades the Historic Jefferson Railway offered tourist excursions through the Big Cypress Bayou in northeast Texas. Jefferson history: There is an area railroad legend, considered to be unfounded, that railroad magnate Jay Gould once cursed the town of Jefferson supposedly because he could not come to an suitable financial arrangement in the early 1870s to route the Texas and Pacific Railway (T & P) through Jefferson when track was first being laid in this part of Texas. Concerning this legend, various sources note that Gould did not put together his syndicate to acquire the T & P railroad until the late 1870s. However, the legend persists, true or not, and still makes for an interesting tale. For whatever reason, the railroad was routed from Texarkana to Marshall, bypassing and running miles south of Jefferson. Another line soon tied Jefferson into the main T & P route and the town is currently served by Union Pacific. On November 27, 1873, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers removed “the raft,” a natural tree and brush blockage of the Red River above Shreveport, significantly reducing the river’s water level above it. Before this, steamboat service was possible all the way to Jefferson from New Orleans and Jefferson was a major steamship port for transportation and freight. Both situations, the removal of the river blockage and the bypassing of Jefferson by T & P, contributed to the decline of Jefferson.
The historic rail system: In the mid 1980s, the City of Jefferson acquired steam locomotives and other rolling stock from a defunct amusement park in Florida and operated a tourist oriented narrow gauge rail line. For about twenty years, a private family owned and operated the Historic Jefferson Railway until they decided to retire and sell the business. Currently, it is not in operation under the new ownership.
An unrelated area attraction that refers to the Gould legend can be viewed at the historic Excelsior House Hotel. It offers tickets to tour “the Atalanta,” Gould’s opulently outfitted rail car, permanently installed on the property.
Six Flags Over Texas has operated two locomotives and is referred to as Six Flags & Texas Railroad. There were two units at the Arlington location which ran on a short narrow gauge one mile loop inside the park. A June 1, 1967 article in the Lockhart Post Register reported that at that time, the park was using authentic steam engines manufactured in 1887 and 1903. The Arlington park had only been open a few years and the article added that the trains had been restored in 1961 in time for the opening. Prior to their acquisition, it said, the locomotives had previously been used to transport “passengers, livestock and crops.” An article in the July 27, 1961 issue of the Rockdale Reporter and Messenger gave the name of one family, the Patouts of Patoutville, Louisiana who used at least one of the engines on a farm known as the Enterprise Plantation near New Iberia. In addition to hauling sugar cane, family members remarked that it had been enjoyable to own their own steam engine and that it had pleased them that the old engine would be restored and continue to have a life at the park. The Six Flags Over Texas website now refers to one train and states that the locomotive was manufactured by H. K. Porter / American Locomotive Works in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Porter was once the largest manufacturer of utility locomotives.
The Longhorn and Western Railroad is operated by the Texas Transportation Museum in San Antonio, rounded in 1964. The track for the museum’s ride was donated from commercial companies including MKT and Southern Pacific. Currently two unidentified diesel powered units are in operation for train rides, but around 1973, the museum acquired in 1911 Baldwin steam locomotive, not presently running. One account says that the chain of ownership of the Baldwin steam engine included the Moscow, Camden and San Augustine Railroad which serviced the East Texas lumber industry. The museum presently offers rides on a short standard gauge track mostly on the weekends, including Christmas themed rides.
The last one discussed today is the Grapevine Vintage Railroad (GVRR). This line runs on track formerly used by the old Cotton Belt Railroad and is operated by the City of Grapevine. Its signature excursion is called the Historic Cotton Belt Route. It departs from the old Cotton Belt depot in Grapevine, runs about 21 miles to the Fort Worth Stockyards and after about a two hour break, returns to Grapevine. The website notes that travel time (around seven hours) may vary because the route is shared with commercial and commuter trains. Its website says that it began offering rides in the 1990s (perhaps under another name). The locomotives presently mentioned are its 1896 steam locomotive (currently under restoration), a 1953 GP-7 diesel and two 1957 FL9 EMD locomotives. The 1896 locomotive, number 2248, was built by Cooke Locomotive Works of Paterson, New Jersey and was used to power freight and passenger trains. The 1953 diesel unit, number 2199, was built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division. The two 1957 units were both also built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division. The GVRR also offers seasonal Christmas themed rides as well as other regular themed trips.
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