Riding the Rails

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After a brief hotel breakfast in Jacksonville, Texas, we rode to Rusk, to get aboard the train to Palestine.

This is not a regular scheduled ride for people to travel between the two cities, but a scenic tour of the Piney Woods of East Texas. During Dogwood blooming season, or changing of the leaves, it would be more scenic, but today, everything was gray, overcast, but a very nice trip without the potential postcard views.

In 1970, the Rusk depot was built to resemble a 1920's style depot.

In the late 1800's, the Texas Prison System built a short run of track, which was the start of the current Texas State Railroad track, to access the hardwood timber, which was used to make charcoal for the prison iron smelting operation. They made the iron for the train trestles, the iron used in the capitol building in Austin and many other sites.

In 1894, the tracks were used to bring the prison goods to market to aid in making the prison self sufficient economically.

There are several interesting historic places along the ride. We passed through Maydelle, a town (milepost 7) that existed because of the railroad, and is the only community left from that era. In 1890, the turntable was put in. It demonstrated how heavy engines could be balanced and turned around using compressed ait. The town srpung up around 1910, and while not a modern community, buildings still exist, and can be seen from the track as you pass by.

At milepost 11, we ran along side of the Mewshar Siding, which is a side track where a equipment or trains could park to let other East-West bound traffic pass. The Mewshaw State Sawmill was there, where convict labor produced lumber from the forest.

Several river crossings, ditch crossings, creek crossings are mentioned along the way. The Neches River crossing is the longest on our trip, 1,042 feet long. Only 35 feet above the river, so you don't see a grand view of canyons and a wide river.

When the railroad arrived in 1872 to Palestine, it changed the travel and shipping modes. By 1896 it was the vital economic force in Palestine, providing jobs in saloons, lodging houses and stores. A new business district was born, and by 1909, the rail between Rusk and Palestine were completed.

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Photos

Waiting for the whistle
6 of the many passengers waiting for the train to depart.

Rusk Depot
This trip started in Rusk and goes to Palestine. It was a rainy morning, and the question before we arrived was "Are the cars open or closed"?

Inside our Car
This is the inside of the Presidential Class car, Car 1511. This view shows half of the inside, The door at the far end enters the other half.

Car 1511
Our car looks like all the others on the outside.

RestoredMailCar
Because passengers fees didn't cover the cost of the train operation, the train got contract to haul mail and packages. That covered the operation expenses as you might expect.

Palestine Depot
The train arrives, and everyone gets off to get a bite to eat while the move the engine from the front to the back so we can return. The depot is out of town, and the "diner" is run by the train staff that we saw onboard. Not cheap, supply and demand working well here.

Palestine Depot-Diner
A busy place. Wait to get food, then find a spot to eat. Lots of nice picnic areas, to enjoy your meal. You know the train won't leave before you get your food because the workers also work the train.

Picnic area in Palestine
Lots of nice picnic tables to eat on. It wasn't raining, so it was a nice relaxing meal. Here, everyone is getting back on board.

Ah We have Signal
It wasn't a surprise that there was no cell service between these two little towns. But, in Palestine, and in Rusk, there was cell service. Waiting for the whistle to blow, and the Eastbound trip to begin.