Sanderson station is an

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

serving the small West

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 ...

town of

Sanderson Sanderson may refer to: Places * Sanderson, Florida, a town in the United States * Sanderson, Texas, a census-designated place in the United States * Sanderson, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States * Sanderson, Northern ...

. The unstaffed station is located alongside Downie Street in the southwest corner of the town. The station accommodates travelers who use the combined ''

Sunset Limited The ''Sunset Limited'' is an Amtrak passenger train that for most of its history has operated between New Orleans and Los Angeles, over the nation's second transcontinental route. However, up until Hurricane Katrina in 2005, it operated betwe ...

'' and ''

Texas Eagle The ''Texas Eagle'' is a daily passenger train route operated by Amtrak between Chicago and San Antonio in the central and western United States. Prior to 1988, the train was known as the ''Eagle''. Trains #21 (southbound) and 22 (northbound) ...

'' between

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, respectively.

Service

The station sees six weekly arrivals, three in each direction. The westbound ''Sunset Limited'' and ''Texas Eagle'' stop at the station at around 8:30 am on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, while the eastbound train stops at about 10:30pm on Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Sanderson is one of the least-used Amtrak stops in its national system, owing to the town's small population. In Amtrak's , Sanderson station served passengers, an average of passengers per day.

History

The stop was formerly the site of a

Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad The Buffalo Bayou, Brazos, and Colorado Railway (B.B.B.C. or B.B.B. & C.), also called the Harrisburg Road or Harrisburg Railroad, was the first operating railroad in Texas. It completed its first segment of track between Harrisburg, Texas (now a ...

(GH&SA) depot, later owned by

Southern Pacific 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 ...

and

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 ...

. A large prefabricated clapboard wooden depot was assembled at the site in 1882 and expanded in 1910. The east end of the depot included a lunchroom, a common feature in the days before dining cars became common. Trains would make a stop at Sanderson, where passengers could get off for a quick meal, before reboarding to continue their journeys. The restaurant also served as a community center in the early days of the town, a place where residents could meet for a meal or a cup of coffee. Even after the decline of passenger rail travel, Sanderson's depot was still well used, serving as a crew change terminal for the Southern Pacific Railroad until 1995. When the crew change point moved out of the town, the depot was abandoned, and began to rapidly deteriorate. Southern Pacific was later purchased by Union Pacific, and the new railroad owners quickly identified Sanderson for demolition due to high maintenance costs. Local citizens advocated for rehabilitating or moving the historic depot, but were ununable to secure funding. The depot was demolished in October 2012. For several years after the depot was demolished, only an Amtrak information sign remained at the site. On May 27, 2021, a fully rebuilt station opened at the site. The $3 million project added an open-air shelter with a built-in bench to provide seating in the shade, a concrete platform, a concrete parking area, and concrete walkways. The entire station is now fully in compliance with the

Americans with Disabilities Act The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ...

. The passenger shelter is built with a base of stone in gray and brown tones, from which rises a framework of massive timbers joined by metal connector plates to support the roof. Amtrak says the passenger shelter’s rustic design reflects the area’s natural beauty, which includes habitat supporting a great variety of cacti.

References

External links

Sanderson Amtrak Station (USA Rail Guide -- Train Web)
{{Texas-railstation-stub Amtrak stations in Texas Former Southern Pacific Railroad stations Transportation in Terrell County, Texas Buildings and structures in Terrell County, Texas Railway stations in the United States opened in 1882