DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about the Port Arthur-Beaumont Interurban Railway, right here in Jefferson County. Now, before the highways filled up with automobiles and eighteen-wheelers, before the interstates stitched Texas together the way they do today, folks got around by other means. And one of the more remarkable was the interurban — electric railways that hummed and sparked between Texas towns from 1901 all the way until the 1940s.
Frequent service, urban centers connected, the future arriving right on schedule. Or close enough. The interurban line between Beaumont and Port Arthur — that particular stretch of electric ambition — fired up on December 16, 1913.
Right here at this site stood the terminal station and maintenance facility for the Port Arthur end of the line. The whole operation was owned and run by two companies working together: the Jefferson County Traction Company and the Beaumont Traction Company, both of them subsidiaries of the East Texas Electric Company. So when the lights came on and the cars started rolling, you knew exactly who was powering them.
Now let's talk about the ride itself, because this was not a bad deal. Ninety cents bought you a round trip. The electric rail cars seated 48 people — though the marker makes a point of noting that often there were many more on board than that.
Apparently the concept of a posted capacity was more of a suggestion than a law. You could board or step off at any of 10 stops along the route, which gave the thing a neighborly feel — not just a point-A-to-point-B proposition but a living, breathing thread running through the community. You could even charter the cars for group trips.
Weekend excursions were popular. Picture it: a party of folks rolling through Southeast Texas on an electric car, feeling every bit like the modern age had arrived. And then 1915 came calling.
When the hurricane bore down on Port Arthur, the interurban became something more than a convenient ride. It became an evacuation line. Citizens fleeing the storm boarded those cars, and the railway carried them out — until the high water crept up and caused a power failure.
Just like that, the electric hum went silent. Some passengers were stranded in the cars for 12 hours. Twelve hours, sitting in those cars, the storm doing what storms do outside, the power gone and not coming back until the water decided to let it.
That's a thing to think about. The line survived that storm, though. It kept running for years after.
But competition has a way of being patient. Automobiles. Buses.
The private car became the more popular mode of transportation, and passenger use of the rail line began to decline. The electric company, for its part, found that increased consumption and new demands for electricity more than made up for losing the interurban as a customer for electric power. So the railway's loss didn't exactly break the bank for the people running the wires.
The last recorded trip of the Port Arthur-Beaumont Interurban ran on August 15, 1932. Nineteen years of service — from a hopeful December in 1913 to a quiet August afternoon in 1932 — and then the cars went still. Somewhere along this route, those 48 seats — and then some — carried neighbors, evacuees, weekend revelers, and everyday commuters across Jefferson County.
The marker stands right where it all began and ended: the terminal at Port Arthur, where the electric cars once rolled out and, one last time, rolled in for good.
What the marker says
Port Arthur-Beaumont Interurban Railway Electric railways known as Interurbans existed in Texas from 1901 until the 1940s to provide frequent opportunities for the public to travel between urban centers. Interurban service between Beaumont and Port Arthur began on December 16, 1913, lasting until competition from automobiles and buses caused passenger use of the rail line to decline. The Jefferson County Traction Company and the Beaumont Traction Company, subsidiaries of the East Texas Electric Company, owned and operated the Port Arthur-Beaumont Interurban Railway. Tickets were 90 cents for a round trip. Passengers departed from Port Arthur at a terminal station and maintenance facility at this site and could board or get off the interurban at any of 10 stops along the route. The electric rail cars seated 48 people, but often there were many more on board. The cars could also be chartered for group trips and were popular for weekend excursions. The interurban service was used to evacuate Port Arthur citizens fleeing the 1915 hurricane until the high water caused a power failure. Some passengers were stranded in the cars for 12 hours. The last recorded trip of the Port Arthur-Beaumont Interurban was August 15, 1932. By that time, private automobiles had become the more popular mode of transportation, while increased consumption and new demands for electricity more than made up for the electric company's loss of the interurban's need for electric power. (2002)