TSR to be sold to private firm

State to give up historic railroad

By JACK DOUGLAS JR.
Star-Telegram staff writer

STAR-TELEGRAM/ DEWUAN X. DAVIS

Texas State Railroad route The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is scheduled on Sept. 1 to turn over operations of a historic East Texas railway, which began in the late 1800s as a prison train, to a private company that runs tourist rail lines in Colorado and North Carolina.

Proponents say the change is the only way to keep the money-losing Texas State Railroad running, while critics say the state has deserted one of its historic jewels -- a small fleet of vintage locomotives chugging through the Piney Woods, between Palestine
and Rusk.

In May, state lawmakers created the Texas State Railroad Authority, which is hammering out the details of an eight-year contract with American Heritage Railways, owner and operator of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in Colorado and the
Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in North Carolina.

The state has committed $2 million to help repair the 25-mile line and is working to free up an additional $10 million in federal "transportation enhancement" funds, officials said.

The line has been closed since July 8, when heavy rain washed out a large section of the track near Maydelle. There are no plans to reopen the railway before the Sept. 1 transfer of operations, state park officials said.

Jeff Jackson, vice president and chief operating officer for American Heritage, said the company plans to aggressively advertise the railroad.

"The best way to preserve history is to make its presentation so interesting and educational that people will be willing to pay a fair and reasonable price to experience it," Jackson said. Fares, which
had maxed out at $27 for an adult in a "climate-controlled " car, will likely increase, he said.

Added attractions, Jackson said, will include children's rides featuring Thomas the Tank Engine, the Little Engine that Could and the Polar Express.

The company will not have to pay money upfront to take over the operation, but it will be responsible for additional repair and upkeep costs, which could be several million dollars, said Steve Presley, president of the Texas State Railroad Authority and a member of
the Palestine City Council.

As long as American Heritage abides by the contract and keeps the line running, it will be given full ownership of the railroad after eight years, excluding the state-owned track, Presley said.

After 35 years with Texas Parks and Wildlife, turning the railway over to a more business-savvy company was "necessary to save the railroad," he said.

The railroad had about 72,000 passengers last year, pulled along by locomotives dating as far back as 1903, general superintendent Robert Crossman said. But that generated only about $1 million, far less than the line's $2.3 million annual operating budget, which
did not include long-range maintenance, Crossman said. "Like most state parks, we were flying the airplane downhill," he said.

After months of often-heated debate over whether the railroad should be dropped as a state park, officials were cautious in their support or criticism of the plan.

"We are working diligently to have a smooth transfer," Crossman said.

Ellen Buchanan, Parks and Wildlife regional director in Northeast Texas, would only say that she holds "close to my heart" the agency's stated mission to "conserve natural and cultural resources, provide recreational and educational opportunities, and foster
an understanding of the diversity of Texas lands and heritage for all generations. "

Michael Banks, president of Save Texas Parks, a nonprofit organization that lobbied to keep the railway in state hands, predicted that passenger fees will double.

He did not buy the argument that the state did not have enough money to keep the railroad running at full steam. "The state has gobs of money," Banks said, "so it's not because of lack of money, it's because of lack of want-to."

In Rusk, hairstylist Glenda Matthews agreed.

"Is our state that broke?" Matthews said, noting that lawmakers "seem to fund everything else they want."

More online

www.texasstaterailroad.com

 

I hope the recent accident, and weather related problems, are not a major setback. In this instance, sounds like a good thing, getting TSRR out of government hands.

Boxcab E50

 

As has been reported elsewhere, the railroad is not running account a washout at Maydell. The heavy rainfall that the Lone Star State suffered in June knocked out a section of the track.

 

I've not seen anything announced, other than repairs are needed. Have they publicly offered any plans about fixing that track?

Boxcab E50

 

Official web site:

http://www.texasstaterr.com/

Site of Friends:

http://www.texasstaterailroad.com/

No obvious mention of any bad news, on either.

Boxcab E50