DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the San Antonio, Uvalde and Gulf Railroad, out here in Atascosa County. Now every great railroad's got a nickname, and this one earned one of the finest in Texas. But we'll get to that.
It all started in 1909 with a short line railroad going by the name of the Crystal City and Uvalde Railroad — the CC&U. And what got the whole thing rolling, so to speak, was water. Deep artesian water wells were being drilled out in the western portion of the brush country, and once that water started flowing, irrigation farming of fruits and vegetables turned downright profitable.
All those crops needed to get somewhere, and a dirt road through the prickly pear wasn't going to cut it. Land promoters took notice fast. They saw the value in that little CC&U Railroad and started dangling bonuses to bring the tracks into new stretches of the brush country.
By 1912, the railroad had expanded into North Pleasanton — a town created by railroad officials specifically to accommodate a round house, railroad shops, and a two-story depot. The train from San Antonio made its first trip to Pleasanton on September 16, 1912. Mark that date.
Something worth celebrating. And somewhere between that first run into Pleasanton and the laying of more track, the railroad shed its old Crystal City and Uvalde name and became the San Antonio, Uvalde and Gulf Railroad — the SAU&G. You take those initials, you say them fast, and Atascosa County will tell you what you get.
The Sausage. That's the nickname, and somehow it stuck with the dignity of a thing that's simply true. In January of 1913, a bridge over the Atascosa River was completed, and train service kept pushing — on to Campbellton, and eventually, all the way to the coast.
The railroad kept growing its reach across that hot, dry, brush-and-prickly-pear country that most folks had written off as unworkable land. In the early 1920s, the SAU&G was purchased by the New Orleans, Texas and Mexico Railroad — acquired on behalf of the Missouri Pacific Railroad. That was hardly the last transaction.
In 1982, Missouri Pacific merged into the Union Pacific Railroad, and so the line passed again into new hands. But here's the thing about that stretch of tracks running from San Antonio all the way to Corpus Christi — those old SAU&G rails are the last remaining tracks between those two cities. And to this day, Union Pacific crews still call that stretch The Sausage.
Started as a short line through the brush, helped turn one of the driest, thorniest corners of south Texas into vast farming and ranching land, and left behind a nickname that outlasted every corporate merger that ever came its way. Not bad for a railroad that began in 1909 with a different name entirely.
What the marker says
The San Antonio, Uvalde and Gulf Railroad had its beginning as a short line railroad and began in 1909 under the original name of the Crystal City and Uvalde (CC&U) Railroad. With the advent of drilling and discovery of deep artesian water wells in the western portion of the brush country, irrigation farming of fruits and vegetables became very profitable which increased the need for better transportation to ship goods to distant markets. Land promoters soon saw the value of the CC&U Railroad, offering "bonuses" to bring the railroad to new areas of the brush country. In 1912, it expanded into North Pleasanton, created by railroad officials to include a round house, railroad shops and a two-story depot. The train from San Antonio made its first trip to Pleasanton on September 16, 1912. By the time the tracks reached Pleasanton, the railroad became the San Antonio, Uvalde and Gulf railroad (SAU&G), or "The Sausage." In January 1913, a bridge over the Atascosa River was completed and train service continued to Campbellton and, eventually, to the coast. In the early 1920s, the SAU&G was purchased by the New Orleans, Texas and Mexico Railroad for the Missouri Pacific Railroad. In 1982, Missouri Pacific merged into the Union Pacific Railroad. The railroad was a major factor in transforming the hot, dry, brush and prickly pear area into the vast farming and ranching lands of south Texas. The old SAU&G Railroad tracks from San Antonio to Corpus Christi are the last remaining tracks between the two cities. Union Pacific crews still refer to this stretch of tracks as "The Sausage."