The CW&BV and I&GN Railroads in Bryan

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the railroads that ran through Bryan, Texas. Now settle in, because this is a story about iron rails, cotton bales, and a town that knew how to grow. Bryan was platted on land granted to the Houston and Texas Central Railroad, and that was back in 1859.

So from the very beginning, this town had railroads in its blood. But one railroad was just the opening act. In 1900, a second line came through.

This one was called the Calvert, Waco and Brazos Valley Railroad, the CW&BV for those of us who don't want to say all that twice, and it was built through Bryan by a man named George Gould. That same year, 1900, the CW&BV put up a depot right here. Now you might picture a depot as just a place to stand around waiting on a train, and you'd be missing something.

This depot hosted social events too. Dances, gatherings, the kind of thing a growing town needed. It stood for the better part of a century, doing its job, until it was razed in 1990.

One year later, in 1901, the tracks were extended up to Waco, and at that point the CW&BV merged with the International and Great Northern Railroad, the IG&N. Two railroads becoming one, rolling on together. And what did all those rails mean for Bryan?

Commerce. The railroads turned this town into a center of it. Cotton especially moved through here, shipped out to larger markets for sale.

Passengers rode the lines too, coming and going, connecting Bryan to a bigger world. Railroad use declined after World War II, but the story wasn't finished. Resurgences came in the 1970s, and again in the 1990s.

Rails have a way of coming back around. And Bryan, well, it started on granted land with a railroad already written into its foundation. Some towns are just built that way.

What the marker says

Bryan was platted on land granted to the Houston & Texas Central Railroad in 1859. In 1900, a second railroad, the Calvert, Waco & Brazos Valley (CW&BV) was built through Bryan by George Gould. The CW&BV built a depot here in 1900; besides train activities, the depot hosted social events until it was razed in 1990. In 1901, when tracks were extended to Waco, the CW&BV merged with the International & Great Northern Railroad (IG&N). The trains helped Bryan become a center of commerce, as the railroads were used to ship goods, particularly cotton, to larger markets for sale. Passengers also used the trains for travel. Railroad use declined after World War II, though resurgences occurred in the 1970s and 1990s. (2009)