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 Brownsville ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Cameron County, Texas, Cameron County, located on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border, border with Matamoros, Tamaulipas ...

, to Gulf Coast Junction in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. It served numerous towns and cities along its routes and operated a rail bridge between Brownsville and

Matamoros, Tamaulipas Matamoros, officially known as Heroica Matamoros, is a city in the northeastern Mexican state of Tamaulipas, and the municipal seat of the homonymous municipality. It is on the southern bank of the Rio Grande, directly across the border from Bro ...

, in junction with the

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

government. The ''Brownie'' connected the citizens of Brownsville to nearby Corpus Christi for the first time on land rather than using water transportation.

Early history

After Uriah Lott's success with his first railroad project, the Corpus Christi, San Diego and Rio Grande Narrow Gauge Railroad in March 1875, he envisioned a plan of creating land transportation along the southern interior 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 ...

. Uriah collaborated with business partner

Benjamin Franklin Yoakum Benjamin Franklin Yoakum (August 20, 1859 – November 28, 1929) was an American railroad executive of the late 19th and early 20th centuries who attempted to join the Frisco and Rock Island Railroads into a great system stretching from Chicago ...

to create a large rail system that reached from

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, in the north to

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

in the south. To put this plan into effect, Yoakum used control from one of his two railroads he was president from - the St. Louis - San Francisco - to create several railroads within Texas 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 ...

as a system. Known as the

Gulf Coast Lines The Gulf Coast Lines was the name of a railroad system comprising three principal railroads, as well as some smaller ones, that stretched from New Orleans, Louisiana, via Baton Rouge and Houston to Brownsville, Texas. Originally chartered as sub ...

, the system was created in three phases under three different railroads: The St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico (Phase 1 - June 1903), the Beaumont, Sour Lake & Western (Phase 2 - October 1903) and the New Orleans, Texas & Mexico Railway (Phase 3 - September 1909). In April 1904, the St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico took delivery of their first three new locomotives: Burnham, Williams & Co.

4-4-0 4-4-0, in the Whyte notation, denotes a steam locomotive with a wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles (usually in a leading bogie), four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels. First built in the ...

s #925, 926 & 927. Shortly after the arrival of the locomotives, the first segment of track was completed on July 4, 1904, which reached

, from its starting point in

Robstown, Texas Robstown is a city in Nueces County, Texas, of the United States of America, and is a western suburb of Corpus Christi, Texas, Corpus Christi. It was founded in 1907 by a land speculator from Keota, Iowa by the name of George H. Paul. Paul purcha ...

. On December 31, 1907, the second (and last) major segment of track on the ''Brownie'' was completed to

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

from its starting point in Robstown and reaching Sinton as well. To further expand the southern portions of the Robstown-Brownsville route, the StLB&M acquired the financially troubled San Antonio, Chapin & Rio Grande Railway as well as the San Benito & Rio Grande Valley Railway; one of the earliest expansions of the Rio Grande Valley Spider Web Rail Network which linked various small to large cities together.

Gulf Coast Lines era

In 1913, Yoakum and Lott's dream came to an end when the St. Louis - San Francisco entered receivership. Upon hearings of the

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later Trucking industry in the United States, truc ...

, the court ordered the receivers to sell off all of Yoakum's rail projects to recover from lost profits or face entire abandonment. In 1916, the New Orleans, Texas & Mexico Railway assumed control of the

and established itself as an independent railway company until 1924. The New Orleans, Texas and Mexico Railway Co. was incorporated in 1916 to hold the securities of four railroads: (1) New Orleans, Texas & Mexico; (2) Beaumont, Sour Lake & Western; (3) Orange & Northwestern; and (4) St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico Railroads. Bonds which had previously been issued by the San Francisco & St. Louis Company went into default in 1913. Foreclosure of the liens took place in 1915. The creditors of the bonds reorganized into the new company in 1916, which became the owner. At that time new officers were elected. The new chairman was Frank Andrews of Houston, Texas, and vice president became G.H. Walker, a banker in St. Louis. Additional officers and directors are set out in the 1916 edition of the Manual of Statistics Handbook. The four railroads owned by the new company were known as the

. G.H. Walker would later become the father-in-law of

Prescott Bush Prescott Sheldon Bush Sr. (May 15, 1895 – October 8, 1972) was an American banker and Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician. as a Wall Street executive investment banker, he represented Connecticut in the from 1952 ...

. Under the Gulf Coast Lines ownership of the StLB&M, the railway saw no new purchases of rolling stock or locomotives. The last new rail line was completed in 1920 from Brownsville to Southmost, Texas.

Missouri Pacific era

Under the presidency of Lewis W. Baldwin of the

Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad o ...

, the Gulf Coast Lines were acquired in December 1924 and renamed as the Gulf Coast Lines Division. This acquisition now gave the Missouri Pacific access to the southern portions of Texas in competition with the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...

and its Atlantic Lines Division. To further expand the Spider Web Rail Network in the

Rio Grande Valley Lower Rio Grande Valley (), often referred to as the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) of South Texas, is a region located in the southernmost part of Texas, along the northern bank of the Rio Grande. It is also known locally as the Valley or the 956 (the ...

, the Missouri Pacific acquired the Rio Grande City Railway under the New Orleans, Texas & Mexico Railroad in 1926. The final acquisition for the Spider Web Rail Network came in 1941 when the former narrow gauged Port Isabel & Rio Grande Valley railway was acquired by the St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico. Unfortunately, the Missouri Pacific declared

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

in 1933 and entered into trusteeship. During the MP/Trusteeship era, the STLB&M continued to modernize and expand. The last new steam locomotive delivered to the StLB&M was Lima

0-8-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and no trailing wheels. Locomotives of this type are also referre ...

#9766 in 1929. The StLB&M took delivery of its first new diesel-electric locomotive: General Electric 44 Ton #813 in January 1942. The last new diesel-electric locomotive to arrive on the StLB&M was Baldwin AS-16 #4331 in July 1954. After 13 years of trusteeship - the longest of its kind in North American history - the StLB&M (as well as the other Gulf Coast Lines subsidiaries) were reorganized and merged away into the Missouri Pacific (under the presidency of

Paul J. Neff Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo P ...

) on March 1, 1956, when the United States District Court of St. Louis terminated the trusteeship. Shortly after the merger did the name of 'StLB&M' and 'Gulf Coast Lines' quickly disappear and various feeder/branch lines were aggressively being abandoned.

Motive power equipment

Steam locomotives

The StLB&M purchased various lightweight locomotives to serve main lines, branch lines and various feeder lines along the system. Under the Yoakum era, the steam locomotives were lettered "ST. LOUIS BROWNSVILLE & MEXICO" along the upper section of the tender and the

reporting marks Reporting may refer to * any activity that leads to reports * in particular business reporting * Data reporting * Sustainability reporting * Financial reporting * international reporting of financial information for tax purposes under the OECD's ...

were applied on the cab. Under the Gulf Coast Lines era, the steam locomotives were lettered "GULF COAST LINES" along the upper section of the tender, but the railroad's reporting marks below the locomotive's roadnumber on the cab. Under the Missouri Pacific era, the steam locomotives were lettered "MISSOURI PACIFIC LINES" along the upper section of the tender, but the railroad's reporting marks were applied below the locomotive's roadnumber on the cab and on the steam dome.

Diesel-Electric Locomotives

Since the ''Brownie'' had various branch lines and feeder lines (especially within the Rio Grande Valley) among its system, the Missouri Pacific purchased various lightweight diesel locomotives and switchers to operate where heavy diesel or steam locomotives were not permitted. Only ALCO PA-2s and Electro Motive Division E7 and E8 models were used in passenger service along the Brownsville - Houston route.

References

''The Empire That Missouri Pacific Serves''

The St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico Railway

The San Benito & Rio Grande Valley Railway

The Rio Grande City Railway

The Port Isabel & Rio Grande Valley Railway

Missouri Pacific Steam Locomotive Roster

Baldwin AS-16 Roster

Baldwin DRS4-4-1500 Roster

Baldwin DS4-4-1000 Roster

Baldwin S12 Roster

Baldwin VO-1000 Roster

EMD E7A Production

EMD GP7 Production

General Electric 44 Ton Roster

4-4-0 American Production

4-6-0 Ten Wheeler Production

2-8-0 Consolidation Production

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway Gulf Coast Lines Predecessors of the Missouri Pacific Railroad Defunct Texas railroads Former Class I railroads in the United States Railway companies established in 1903 Railway companies disestablished in 1956 American companies disestablished in 1956 American companies established in 1903