Temple is a train station in

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

served by

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 ...

, the national railroad passenger system. The station was originally built as an

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...

depot. East of the station on another railroad line through Temple, a former Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad depot can be found, as the nexus for trains bound for

Waco Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...

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 ...

and

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 in ...

History

The first depot in Temple was in a boxcar. Later a two-story depot was built. In 1898 a

Harvey House The Fred Harvey Company was the owner of the Harvey House chain of restaurants, hotels and other hospitality industry businesses alongside railroads in the Western United States. It was founded in 1876 by Fred Harvey to cater to the growing n ...

was built next to the depot. The current station was opened on January 29, 1911. Services included: *''

Texas Chief The ''Texas Chief'' was a passenger train operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway between Chicago, Illinois, and Galveston, Texas. It was the first Santa Fe "Chief" outside the Chicago–Los Angeles routes. The Santa Fe conveyed the ...

'' - (Chicago - Fort Worth - Galveston) *''California Special'' (west to Clovis, NM, Belen, NM, Los Angeles, CA) / ''Texan'' (east to Houston, and via

Missouri Pacific Railway 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 ...

to New Orleans) *services to Brownwood, and to Houston In 1995, the city of Temple bought 8.5 acres of land around the station and the Santa Fe Railroad donated the building. In 1999, restoration work began on the depot and it was reopened on June 8, 2000. Cleburne Times Review, John Watson: Visit the Santa Fe Depot Museum in Temple.January 22, 2006 The depot is currently home to the Temple Railroad and Heritage Museum and an Amtrak ticket office. The museum is open Monday through Saturday. The Amtrak office is open Monday through Saturday until the northbound Texas Eagle departs. Next to the depot is the former Moody, Texas depot which is now home to the Central Texas Area Model Railroaders. Inside the depot is a model train layout which is open to the public on the first and fourth Saturday of each month. North of Temple, the ''Texas Eagle'' is hosted by

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

; south of Temple, it uses the tracks of

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 ...

Railroad. Temple station also provides Amtrak

Thruway Motorcoach Amtrak Thruway is a system of through-ticketed transportation services to connect passengers with areas not served by Amtrak trains. In most cases these are dedicated motorcoach routes, but can also be non-dedicated intercity bus services, tran ...

service to Killeen and

Fort Hood, Texas Fort Hood is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. Named after Confederate General John Bell Hood, it is located halfway between Austin and Waco, about from each, within the U.S. state of Texas. The post is the headquarter ...

References

External links

Amtrak Texas Eagle Stations - Temple, TX
Amtrak stations in Texas Railway stations in the United States opened in 1911 Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach stations in Texas Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway stations Transportation in Bell County, Texas Buildings and structures in Bell County, Texas {{Texas-railstation-stub