Roscoe, Snyder & Pacific Railroad Company

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about the Roscoe, Snyder and Pacific Railroad Company out in Scurry County. Now, they called it the Roscoe, Snyder and Pacific, and that last word, Pacific, well, that's a pretty ambitious name for a railroad that stretches all of thirty-one miles. But don't let the short distance fool you.

This little road had a story that punches well above its weight. It all started with General F. W.

James, an Abilene banker and developer, who put in the effort to get the whole thing established. His son, Winfield S. James, was the one who actually directed construction.

So you had a family enterprise from the very beginning. But here's where the story gets interesting. The James family may have been the founders, yet the marker gives clear credit for making the road a success to one H.

O. Wooten. Wooten came on as Vice President originally, then held controlling interest for decades.

The man who built it and the man who made it work, different people, and the marker is careful to say so. Daily service started in 1908, running from Roscoe to Snyder. Then in 1909 the line reached out to Fluvanna.

Fifty miles of track in all, and for a region still being settled, that was no small thing. The railroad contributed much to the economy and the settling of the area. It became a connecting link with the Santa Fe and the Texas and Pacific Railroads, which meant this little short-line had a hand in something much bigger than itself.

For several decades it ran a flourishing business, passenger service, mail, express, freight, the works. Then came the Scurry County oil booms of the nineteen-twenties and the nineteen-forties, and this railroad found itself hauling essential oil field equipment right into the heart of it all. That kind of work matters.

Now, those steam locomotives were thirsty machines in every sense. They required ten to twelve tons of coal every single day just for the round trip, and they needed water stops at Roscoe, Snyder, and Fluvanna. By 1929, though, oil had replaced coal as fuel.

And by 1956, all engines had converted to diesel power. The railroad was always changing with the times. But change also meant contraction.

Service to Fluvanna was discontinued in 1941. Passenger service to Snyder ended in 1953. It must have seemed like the Roscoe, Snyder and Pacific was quietly winding down.

And yet. The marker calls it short-lived in one breath, then tells you in the very next that it moves more than twenty thousand cars yearly. Thirty-one miles of track, and this thing is a gateway for transcontinental traffic.

A connection point for the big roads, the long hauls, the coast-to-coast commerce rolling across Texas. General James dreamed it up, Winfield built it, H. O.

Wooten ran it right, and somehow this little railroad that could barely reach from one small West Texas town to the next ended up threading itself into the great web of American commerce. Fifty miles named after an ocean it never came close to seeing. And by the looks of it, the Pacific was always the point.

What the marker says

Established through efforts of Gen. F. W. James, Abilene banker and developer. Winfield S. James, a son, directed construction. While the James' were founders, H.O. Wooten, originally a Vice President and for decades owner of controlling interest, is credited with making the road a success. Daily services started in 1908 from Roscoe to Snyder and to Fluvanna in 1909. This 50-mile railroad contributed much to the economy and settling of area; later was a connecting link with the Santa Fe and Texas & Pacific Railroads. For several decades it had a flourishing passenger, mail, express and freight business. It played major role in the Scurry County oil boom of 1920's and 1940's, transporting much essential oil field equipment. Its steam locomotives required from 10 to 12 tons of coal daily for the round trip, with water stops at Roscoe, Snyder and Fluvanna. Oil replaced coal by 1929, and all engines converted to diesel power by 1956. Service to Fluvanna was discontinued in 1941, and passenger service to Snyder in 1953. Today this short-lived railroad (31 miles) has a remarkable growth story as a connection and gateway for transcontinental traffic. It moves more than 20,000 cars yearly. (1967)