The San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway first began operation in the U.S. state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

in 1886. It was developed by Uriah Lott and businessmen of

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...

as a direct route from the city to

Aransas Bay Aransas Bay is a bay on the Texas Gulf Coast, approximately northeast of Corpus Christi, and south of San Antonio. It is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by San José Island (also referred to as St. Joseph Island). Aransas Pass is the m ...

on the Texas

Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...

coast. It was eventually absorbed in the 20th century by Southern Pacific.

Background

Uriah Lott, a transportation

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...

, engaged his friends Richard King and contractor

Mifflin Kenedy Mifflin may refer to: Places United States * Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania * Mifflin, Indiana * Mifflin, Ohio * Mifflin, Pennsylvania * Mifflin County, Pennsylvania * Mifflin, Tennessee * Mifflin, West Virginia * Mifflin, Wiscons ...

in development of three railroad lines in Texas to improve connections from major cities to smaller ones, and to trading areas in Mexico. The Corpus Christi, San Diego and Rio Grande Narrow Gauge Railroad connected Corpus Christi and Laredo. The

St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway Chartered on June 6, 1903, the St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico Railway (also known as the ''Brownie'') was a 200-mile (321 km) U.S. railroad that operated from Brownsville, Texas, to Gulf Coast Junction in Houston, Texas. It served numerous to ...

ran from

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

to Brownsville through the

Rio Grande Valley The Lower Rio Grande Valley ( es, Valle del Río Grande), commonly known as the Rio Grande Valley or locally as the Valley or RGV, is a region spanning the border of Texas and Mexico located in a floodplain of the Rio Grande near its mouth. ...

and related stops. Supported by businessmen from

, the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway was developed to connect San Antonio with

on Texas'

coast, where a

deepwater port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

was being developed.

Lott, Texas Lott is a city in Falls County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 644. History The Texas Townsite Company bought the land in 1889. When the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway was built through the area ...

was named in the developer's honor. (After damaging

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Dep ...

s in the early 20th century, the US Army Corps of Engineers designated Corpus Christi to be the deep-water port in this area.)

Line history

The San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway Company was incorporated in 1884, to fulfill the need for a direct railway route from San Antonio to Mexico. Augustus Belknap became president of the company's board of directors, all of whom were also the primary investors, which included William H. Maverick, Edward Stevenson, Edward Katula, Daniel Sullivan, A. J. Lockwood, and George H. Kalteyer, all businessmen based in San Antonio, George Polk was the surveyor. With no progress upon completion of Polk's survey, Belknap was replaced by Lott as president of the board. He gained support in the state legislature from Representative Mifflin Kennedy. Construction began in 1885, and the first train rolled out on the line in 1886. The railroad went into receivership in 1890. The receivership was lifted in 1892 after a corporate reorganization whereby Southern Pacific acquired the majority of the stock. As Section 5 of

Article X of the Texas Constitution Article X of the Texas Constitution of 1876 covers railroad companies and the creation of the Railroad Commission of Texas. The federal government later created the Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate railroads, and eight of the nine sections ...

prohibited common control of parallel railroads, in 1903, the

Southern Pacific Railway The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

was sued by the

Texas Railroad Commission The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC; also sometimes called the Texas Railroad Commission, TRC) is the state agency that regulates the oil and gas industry, gas utilities, pipeline safety, safety in the liquefied petroleum gas industry, and sur ...

. Southern Pacific lost the lawsuit and was compelled to divest itself of ownership of the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway. In 1924, a change in statutes allowed Southern Pacific to regain control of the railway. In 1934, the Southern Pacific consolidated the San Antonio and Aransas Pass into their Texas and New Orleans subsidiary road.

References

External links

San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway
{{DEFAULTSORT:San Antonio and Aransas Pass RR Defunct Texas railroads Predecessors of the Southern Pacific Transportation Company Transportation in San Antonio Railway companies established in 1886 1886 establishments in Texas Railway companies disestablished in 1934 History of San Antonio Karnes County, Texas

Background

Line history

See also

References

External links