The Galveston, Houston and Henderson Railroad was the first railway to operate between Houston and Galveston. Sometimes known as the "Old Reliable Short Line," service commenced around 1859 and operated for 136 years under its original charter. Later the railroad was acquired by 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 ...

and part of old right-of-way is operated as part of 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 ...

History

The Galveston, Henderson and Houston Railroad was granted its charter on 7 February 1853. Named for its main destinations,

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

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 ...

, and

Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname * Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada *H ...

, construction of the road began in 1857 and service between Virginia Point, Texas and Houston was available about two years later. This section of road over the coastal plain was both flat and straight. The railway was assisted by

Galveston County Galveston County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas, located along the Gulf Coast adjacent to Galveston Bay. As of the 2020 census, its population was 350,682. The county was founded in 1838. The county seat is the City of Galveston, ...

funding, which financed the construction of a causeway of the broad channel between Virginia Point and

Galveston Island Galveston Island ( ) is a barrier island on the Texas Gulf Coast in the United States, about southeast of Houston, Texas, Houston. The entire island, with the exception of Jamaica Beach, Texas, Jamaica Beach, is within the city limits of the City ...

. The railway started service between Galveston and Houston in 1860. The railway remained mostly under control of the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...

(CSA) during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. More recently, most of original Galveston, Houston and Henderson right-of-way running between the Island and Bayou cities has been a property of the

known as the Galveston Subdivision. This legacy rail track is 47 miles long and lies just east of I-45 while running parallel to it. The Galveston Subdivision has principal connections to the Houston regional freight network at its junction with the West Belt Subdivision and at its junction with the Union Pacific Railroad Galveston at Virginia Point. Even though it is mostly single-track with occasional sidings, the Union Pacific reported an average of fifteen to twenty-five trains per day in 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Galveston, Houston and Henderson Railroad History of Texas Defunct Texas railroads Predecessors of the Union Pacific Railroad Railway companies established in 1859