The Beaumont, Sour Lake and Western Railway was an railroad that ran from

Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about east of Houston (city ...

to Gulf Coast Junction in

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 ...

. It passed through small southeast Texas communities such as

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

, Kenefick, and Huffman. As part of the Gulf Coast Lines system, the road was eventually merged into 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 ...

in 1956, which in turn was merged into the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

in 1982. The Union Pacific still makes heavy use of the route.

History

The Gulf Coast Lines were projected originally by B. F. Yoakum, chairman of the board of the Rock Island and Frisco Lines. Yoakum's plan envisioned using the Rock Island and Frisco, together with several railroads to be built in 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 ...

and now known as the Gulf Coast Lines, to form a continuous line of railroad extending from

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St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

and

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, Brownsville,

Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fif ...

and

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. The Beaumont, Sour Lake and Western Railway Company was chartered on August 8, 1903, as the Beaumont, Sour Lake and Port Arthur Traction Company. Construction of the Beaumont, Sour Lake and Western section was started at Beaumont in October, 1903. The name was changed on June 30, 1904. R. C. Duff and other financial backers from Columbus, Ohio, and Beaumont, Texas, organized the Traction Company to build an electric line between Port Arthur and Sour Lake. The renamed railroad amended its charter to allow it to connect Beaumont with Port Arthur, Sour Lake, Batson, and Houston, and to transport freight, passengers, mail and express. However, as Port Arthur seemed increasingly unlikely to overtake Houston as a major shipping center, and as Sour Lake oilfield production declined, some of the original investors lost heart. Yoakum purchased the properties in 1905 and placed them in service to Houston on December 31, 1907, simultaneously with the beginning of operation of the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico from Houston to Brownsville. After joining the Gulf Coast Lines, the BSL&W was extended from Grayburg to Houston in December 1907 despite high water and the threat of yellow fever along the Trinity River. In 1916 the BSL&W reported passenger earnings of $180,000 and freight earnings of $604,000. The eighty-five-mile line became part of the

Missouri Pacific 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 ...

system in 1924, but continued to operate as a separate company until merged with the MP on March 1, 1956.

Houston North Shore Line

The Houston North Shore Line was constructed for the convenience of commuters between Houston and the towns of Baytown, Goose Creek and Pelly (the "tri-cities" region). The line was purchased by Missouri Pacific. MP continued commuter service without interruption. Beaumont, Sour Lake & Western acquired the line from MP, and operated it as part of the BSL&W's transportation system on the MP right-of-way. Curiously, the HNS, after purchase by BSL&W never actually connected with other elements of the BSL&W system. Tickets and schedules were issued under that name, but there was no physical meeting of branches for exchange of passengers, etc. From the 1920s until the late 1940s, the interurban line was powered by electrical overhead catenary. Freight operations were powered by steam. In 1948, the line converted to diesel-powered busses, laid on frames of busses as built for city bus lines. In its early years, the major stopping points for passenger were: Goose Creek (terminus); the Humble Oil Refinery (the largest contributor of revenue); Highlands (a small suburban community), and Houston. In earlier times, the electrified trains ran several schedules along these points. It was an incentive for each community's population to shop, work and visit the Houston metropolis, and return home in time for dinner. In the 1940s, the line was downgraded to diesel-busses, as the post-war economy emphasized personal transportation with automobiles eagerly produced by Detroit manufacturers to enable them to return to a peacetime, and profitable, footing. Toward the end, the interurban was primarily a vehicle for commuting by personal servants going to and from work and home; occasionally, field trips for grade-school students on a day-long outing would take them from Goose Creek to the turn-around point at MP's Market Street Yard, on Houston's fringe area. The round trip lasted about two hours. BSL&W's losses ran to a million dollars per year on this branch. The railroad regularly petitioned the ICC for permission to cancel the service; it was typically denied. In 1961, the ICC finally granted the petition to end the service, and BSL&W ended its presence in the area.

Current

This railway is now owned and operated by

, successor to MoPac. The tracks are part of the UP Beaumont Subdivision. Predominantly a single track railroad with limited sidings, it is normally restricted to northbound and eastbound traffic, averaging around 15 trains daily including Amtrak's eastbound

Sunset Limited The ''Sunset Limited'' is a long-distance passenger train run by Amtrak, operating on a route between New Orleans and Los Angeles. Major stops include Houston, San Antonio and El Paso in Texas, as well as Tucson, Arizona. Opening in 1894 thr ...

Canadian Pacific Kansas City Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited, Trade name, doing business as CPKC (known as Canadian Pacific Railway Limited until 2023), is a Canadian railway holding company. Through its primary operating railroad subsidiaries, Canadian Pacific Railw ...

and

BNSF BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that provide ...

has

trackage rights Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies. Operating Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may c ...

at the Beaumont Sub. Amtrak's Sunset Limited service westbound and both westbound and southbound UP, CPKC, and BNSF trains run the

Sunset Route The Sunset Route is a main line of the Union Pacific Railroad running between Southern California and New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the southernmost railway that connects the central United States to the U.S. Pacific Coast. History The idea ...

(UP Houston Subdivision).

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beaumont Sour Lake Western 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 1904 Railway companies disestablished in 1956 1903 establishments in Texas 1956 disestablishments in Texas Beaumont, Texas American companies disestablished in 1956 American companies established in 1903 Liberty County, Texas