The Pecos Valley Southern Railway is a

short-line railroad :''Short Line is also one of the four railroads in the American version of the popular board game Monopoly, named after the Shore Fast Line, an interurban streetcar line.'' A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that opera ...

headquartered in Pecos,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, United States. PVS operates a line from Saragosa to an interchange with

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

at Pecos. The line generally parallels State Highway 17. The railroad's traffic consists mainly of crude oil,

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

, and

barite Baryte, barite or barytes ( or ) is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate ( Ba S O4). Baryte is generally white or colorless, and is the main source of the element barium. The ''baryte group'' consists of baryte, celestine (strontium sulfate), ...

ore.

History

The line was opened on May 1, 1910, between Pecos and Toyahvale (a distance of ). The segment between Toyahvale and Saragosa was abandoned in 1971. From 1927 to 1946, the railroad was controlled by the

Texas and Pacific Railroad 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 bo ...

(now part of Union Pacific). The railroad was popular with tourists who rode trains from Pecos to San Solomon Springs (now

Balmorhea State Park Balmorhea State Park is a state park located on the San Solomon Springs in Reeves County, Texas, opened in 1968. The closest city is Balmorhea, Texas. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department manages the park. The park is open year-round, and visitat ...

). On September 1, 2012, the Pecos Valley Southern Railroad (PVSR) began operating as a subsidiary of

Watco Watco Companies, L.L.C. (Watco) is a transportation company based in Pittsburg, Kansas, formed in 1983 by Charles R. Webb. Watco was composed of four divisions: transportation, mechanical, terminal and port services, and compliance. Watco is th ...

Transportation Services, LLC, under a long-term lease agreement reached with PVSR.

References

Bibliography

External links

Union Pacific PVS Profile
*https://web.archive.org/web/20150714122644/https://www.watcocompanies.com/our-services/rail-services/pvs/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Pecos Valley Southern Railway Texas railroads Transportation in Reeves County, Texas Railway lines opened in 1910 Pecos, Texas