The Fredericksburg and Northern Railway was a connector line between

Fredericksburg, Texas Fredericksburg (german: Friedrichsberg) is the seat of Gillespie County, in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 Census, this city had a population of 10,530. Fredericksburg was founded in 1846 and named after Prince Frederick of Prussia. O ...

, and the

San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway The San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway first began operation in the U.S. state of Texas in 1886. It was developed by Uriah Lott and businessmen of San Antonio as a direct route from the city to Aransas Bay on the Texas Gulf coast. It was eventual ...

. It operated under that name from 1917 until 1942. From 1913 to 1917, it was operated as the San Antonio, Fredericksburg and Northern Railway.

History

After the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, Fredericksburg wanted to connect to the existing San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway for a speedier method of delivering their products to the

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= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

marketplace. After the disappointment of the SA&AP building a connector line only as far as

Kerrville Kerrville is a city in, and the county seat of, Kerr County, Texas, United States. The population of Kerrville was 24,278 at the 2020 census. Kerrville is named after James Kerr, a major in the Texas Revolution, and friend of settler- ...

, businessmen in Fredericksburg began to formulate a plan to raise capital to build a line connecting with the SA&AP. $30,000 in

capital stock A corporation's share capital, commonly referred to as capital stock in the United States, is the portion of a corporation's equity that has been derived by the issue of shares in the corporation to a shareholder, usually for cash. "Share capi ...

was issued. An additional $200,000 cash was raised to pay the contractor to build the line. In 1913, the San Antonio, Fredericksburg and Northern Railway Company was chartered. While building the line, a 920 foot (280m) long tunnel was chosen over switchbacks to accommodate a rapid elevation change and difficult terrain. This increased the cost by $134,000 and required five months of hard labor. The first train rolled down the line and through the new tunnel on August 16, 1913. Cain City was originally established as a stop for the new line. The added cost of building the tunnel sent the new company into

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in ca ...

in 1914. The railway was deeded over to the newly chartered Fredericksburg and Northern Railway Company by Martin Carle, who had purchased the property December 31, 1917, under a foreclosure sale. The F&N line continued to operate until

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, but failed to turn enough profit to pay off the original debt incurred in 1917 for its purchase. On July 25, 1942, the

United States War Department The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, a ...

approved the application of owner Dr. O. H. Judkins to cease operations of the railway. The track was sold for scrap. The tunnel is now home for up to three million Mexican free-tailed bats and 3,000

cave myotis The cave myotis (''Myotis velifer'') is a species of vesper bat (''Vespertilionidae'') in the genus ''Myotis''. Description It is larger than most other bats in the ''Myotis'' group, with a forearm of . The bat is brown with short ears, and can ...

from May through October. The tunnel and surrounding land is part of Old Tunnel State Park.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fredericksburg Defunct Texas railroads Fredericksburg, Texas