The Timber Rock Railroad (TIBR) is a shortline rail carrier operating in the states of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. Its single line runs from

Kirbyville, Texas Kirbyville is a city in Jasper County, Texas, Jasper County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,036 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Early development The town was first established in 1895 when the Gulf, Beaumont, ...

DeRidder, Louisiana DeRidder is a city in, and the parish seat of, Beauregard Parish, Louisiana, Beauregard Parish, Louisiana, United States. A small portion of the city extends into Vernon Parish, Louisiana, Vernon Parish. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 c ...

, about 41.5 miles. It is owned by the Watco Companies.

History

The TIBR began operations in 1998 when Watco leased the Kirbyville to DeRidder line from what is now the

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...

. This line had been completed in 1906 by the Jasper and Eastern Railroad, a subsidiary of the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Railroad classes, Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight tra ...

. Watco later leased other lines from BNSF, including Kirbyville to

Tenaha, Texas Tenaha is a town in Shelby County, Texas, Shelby County, Texas, United States. The population was 989 at the 2020 census. History Tenaha was established on February 2, 1886. The community was named by members of the Hicks family (Cherokee) for ...

in 2002, Kirbyville to

Silsbee, Texas Silsbee is a town in Hardin County, Texas, United States. This town is north of Beaumont. The population was 6,935 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area. Geography Silsbee is located in eastern Hardin ...

in February 2004, and

Somerville, Texas Somerville ( ) is a city in Burleson County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,312 at the 2020 census. Somerville is named for Albert Somerville the first president of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway. Geography Somerville is l ...

to Silsbee in July 2004. At that point, the line was operating across about 290 miles of track. But thereafter, the line began discontinuing service on various segments. By the time in early 2017 when the BNSF exercised an option to take back over operation of the trackage from Silsbee to Tenaha, TIBR was reduced to the original Kirbyville to DeRidder line.

Operations

Besides the endpoints of Kirbyville and DeRidder, the line serves Bon Wier, Texas and

Merryville, Louisiana Merryville is a town in Beauregard Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,103 at the 2010 census. It is part of the DeRidder Micropolitan Statistical Area. Geography U.S. Route 190 passes through the community, leading north ...

. While the TIBR will move any commodity, the primary traffic on the line is aggregates, lumber products, plastics, and fuel. The line interchanges with the BNSF in Kirbyville, and the

Kansas City Southern Railway The Kansas City Southern Railway Company is an American Class I railroad. Founded in 1887, it operated in 10 Midwestern United States, Midwestern and Southeastern United States, Southeastern U.S. states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Ark ...

in DeRidder.

References

Notes

{{Texas railroads Louisiana railroads Texas railroads Watco