DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, as best as Duane can render it. Now, you might think a railroad story starts with steel and steam, but this one starts with something a little more humble — fruit. Vegetables.
Cotton. Things that don't keep forever, sitting in East Texas heat, waiting for a market that's just a little too far away. A group of Tyler citizens looked at that problem and decided the answer was iron rails.
Their plan: build a line out of Tyler and tap into one of the major railroads already running nearby. That's the whole idea, right there in the name — the Tyler Tap Railroad. And the men who pushed for it weren't small-timers.
R. B. Hubbard, who would later become governor of Texas, was among them.
So was James P. Douglas, a onetime state senator. W.
S. Herndon, A. M.
Ferguson, and J. H. Brown rounded out the group of promoters.
In 1871, the State Legislature accepted their proposal and issued a charter. The Tyler Tap Railroad was to connect with either the Texas and Pacific Railroad or the International and Great Northern Railroad — and it had to do so within forty miles of Tyler. The local organizers settled on linking up with the Texas and Pacific at Big Sandy.
Now here's where the story gets that particular Texas flavor of ambition meeting reality. Actual construction didn't begin until 1875. Four years after the charter.
And the first train didn't roll until October 1st, 1877 — six years after that legislature shook hands on the idea. Part of that delay comes down to money, which has a way of complicating even the most sensible of plans. The funds were supposed to come from stock sales.
Private financing. But it didn't raise enough. So the promoters went back to the Legislature, and the Legislature agreed to award state land for each mile of track completed.
That kept the thing moving. And once it was moving, other eyes took notice. The Tyler Tap, organized and promoted by local citizens, soon attracted outside investors.
By 1879, under a new charter, the line was renamed the Texas and St. Louis Railway — still headquartered right there in Tyler. Then in 1891, it was reorganized again, this time as the St.
Louis Southwestern Railway. Most folks, though, knew it by a simpler name: the Cotton Belt. Fruits, vegetables, and cotton that needed a road to market.
That's where this all began. And what started as a tap line connecting one Texas town to a nearby rail junction ended up as a railway with a name that stretched from the Lone Star State all the way to St. Louis.
Not a bad run for a railroad born out of a produce problem.
What the marker says
To provide for shipment of locally-grown fruits, vegetables, and cotton to distant markets, a group of Tyler citizens proposed a railroad to connect the town with major rail lines nearby. The promoters included R. B. Hubbard, later governor of Texas; James P. Douglas, onetime state senator; W. S. Herndon, A. M. Ferguson, and J. H. Brown. In 1871 the State Legislature accepted their proposal and chartered the Tyler Tap Railroad to join with the Texas & Pacific Railroad or the International & Great Northern Railroad within 40 miles of Tyler. Local organizers decided to link with the Texas & Pacific at Big Sandy. Actual construction was delayed until 1875, with the first train running Oct. 1, 1877. Funds for the tap line were to be secured by sale of stock, but when private financing failed to raise enough money, the Legislature agreed to award state land for each mile of track completed. Although organized and promoted by local citizens, the Tyler Tap line soon attracted other investors. In 1879, under a new charter, it was renamed the Texas & St. Louis Railway, with headquarters in Tyler. It was reorganized again in 1891 as the St. Louis Southwestern Railway, commonly known as the Cotton Belt, with general offices still located here.