Texas State Railroad

The start of the railroad dates back to 1883, with the completion of the Rusk Penitentiary in Rusk, Texas. Built with inmate labor, the original purpose of the railroad was to transport raw materials for the iron smelter located at the Rusk Penitentiary. In 1906, the line reached Maydelle, and by 1909, the line was completed when it reached Palestine. The railroad grew and eventually expanded to freight and passenger service, but it was not profitable.[2] Regular train service by the state ceased in 1921 and the line was leased to various railroad companies until 1969.

TSRR's Palestine Terminal.

In 1972, the Texas Legislature turned the railroad over to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to be used as a state park. However, by 2006, the train cost the state of Texas $1 million per year more to maintain and to operate than the revenue from the park generated. Because of budget concerns, the Eightieth Texas Legislature (2007) passed Senate Bill 1659 which allowed for the creation of the Texas State Railroad Authority, and conveyed ownership of real estate and rolling stock to the Authority. The RoW was leased to the Authority for 99 years. The Authority leases operation of the line to qualified railroad operators. On September 1, 2007, the Texas State Railroad Authority leased the operations of the TSRR to American Heritage Railways, which also operates the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (D&SNG) in Colorado and the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad (GSMR) in North Carolina. In August 2012, American Heritage Railways abandoned the lease and Iowa Pacific Holdings leased operations. In addition to continuing passenger operations, Iowa Pacific Holdings opened the track to the main line in Palestine on November 1, 2012, to begin offering freight services. The Western Group replaced Iowa Pacific Holdings as operator in May 2017 and was in turn replaced by Jaguar Transport Holdings of Joplin, Missouri in November 2020.[3]

The leading supporters of keeping the railroad operational are State Senator Robert Nichols, along with State Representative Cody Harris.

The schedule of the railroad allows visitors to ride trains pulled by antique diesel and steam locomotives between the park's Victorian-style depots and through the forests of East Texas. The railroad also has a long history of film and television productions, such as episodes of NBC's Revolution.[4]

The Texas State Railroad operates both steam and diesel locomotives, with build dates ranging from 1901 to 1958:[5]

Currently rostered locomotives

Number	Image	Type	Wheel Arrangement	Classification	Builder	Built	Serial Number	Former	Status	In Service	Notes
316		Steam	4-6-0	D-9	A.L. Cooke	1901	26142	Texas and Pacific Railway	Display	No	Formerly operated as TSRR No. 201. Awaiting future overhaul as of 2023.
28		Steam	2-8-0	Pershing	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1917	47032	U.S. Army Tremont and Gulf Railroad Southern Pine Lumber Co.	Stored	No	Formerly operated as TSRR No. 300. Undergoing a boiler and running gear rebuild as of 2023.
30/7		Steam	2-8-2	Class 30	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1917	46491	Tremont and Gulf Railroad Magma Arizona Railroad	Operational	Yes	Formerly operated as TSRR No. 400. Originally No. 30 for the Tremont and Gulf Railroad and No. 7 for the Magma Arizona Railroad.
1316		Steam	4-6-2	Class 1309	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1911	37332	Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway	Display	No	Formerly operated as TSRR No. 500. Cosmetically restored in 2020. Awaiting future overhaul as of 2023.
610		Steam	2-10-4	I-1a	Lima Locomotive Works	1927	7237	Texas and Pacific Railway	Display	No	Operated on the American Freedom Train tour in 1976 and for the Southern Railway steam excursion program from 1977 to 1981.
1		Diesel	(B-B)	45-Ton	General Electric (GE)	1947	29207	Unknown	Operational	Yes
7		Diesel	(B-B)	RS-2	American Locomotive Company (ALCO) Alco-GE	1947	76828	Alcoa Aluminum Railroad Southern Pacific Railroad	Operational	Yes
8		Diesel	(C-C)	MRS-1	American Locomotive Company (ALCO) Alco-GE	1953	80334	U.S. Army	Operational	Yes
22		Diesel	(B-B)	70-Ton	General Electric (GE)	1956	32569	Texas South Eastern	Stored	No
125		Diesel	(B-B)	FP9A	General Motors Diesel Division (GMD)	1957	A1051	Canadian National Railway VIA Rail	Operational	Yes	Originally built as CN No. 6521. Debuted at the Texas State Railroad in 2018.
126		Diesel	(B-B)	FP9A	General Motors Diesel Division (GMD)	1958	Unknown	Canadian National Railway VIA Rail	Operational	Yes	Originally built as CN No. 6533. Debuted at the Texas State Railroad in 2022.

Formerly rostered locomotives

Number	Image	Type	Wheel arrangement	Classification	Builder	Built	Serial Number	Former	Current owner	Status	In service	Notes
2248		Steam	4-6-0	T-1	A.L. Cooke	1896	2312	Southern Pacific Railroad	Grapevine Vintage Railroad	Stored	No	It was operational on the TSRR as No. 200 before it was sold to the Fort Worth and Western Railroad in 1990. Undergoing a boiler rebuild and will return to service sometime in 2023.[6]

In September 2012, the Surface Transportation Board approved an operating agreement between the Texas State Railroad Authority and the Rusk, Palestine & Pacific Railroad (RP&P) for the latter to perform common carrier freight service over the Rusk-to-Palestine line using the RP&P name.[7] In May 2017, the line was leased to the Texas & Eastern Railroad to carry on the freight services,[8] the RP&P being dissolved in January 2018.[9] The freight trains bear the Texas & Eastern name, but the passenger excursions continue to operate under the Texas State Railroad name.[8]

The Texas & Eastern interchanges with the Union Pacific at Palestine, and carries primarily construction aggregates, industrial products and chemicals.[8]

• List of heritage railroads in the United States

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Texas State Railroad.

• Official website
• Texas State Railroad Society
• HawkinsRails' Texas State Railroad scrapbook
• Jaguar Transport Holdings