i have been curious about two long gone texas shortlines the texas midland and abilene & southern. was just curious anyone that lived along their tracks, what kind of industries/customers they served.
Hi - I just found this post, asking about the Texas Midland and Abilene & Southern. I can't help you much with the TM, but I've been gathering lots of material about the A&S. It was a subsidiary of the Texas & Pacific, and later the Missouri Pacific, and stretched from Abilene south to Ballinger, with an extension that ran north to Hamlin, using trackage rights over the Wichita Valley as far north as Anson. The line was built by Welsh-born Col. Morgan Jones, who built numerous Texas railroads in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
The A&S began in 1909. It primarily hauled cotton bales, cottonseed oil, and wheat - also some cattle - from the towns along its right-of-way to larger markets and the outside world: to Abilene, with a T&P/MP connection, or to Ballinger, where it interchanged with the Santa Fe.
Passenger service was handled through various means, including a Brill Motor Car, offering "Doodlebug" service, until that car was retired in the 1930s. Later, they offered mixed train service with a combine baggage/coach car, up until the mid-1950s.
The road was abandoned in stages. The Anson to Hamlin segment was taken up around 1937. The Ballinger to Winters part was abandoned and pulled up in 1972. After that, MoPac continued to operate the Abilene to Winters segment after its merger with UP, until 1989, when that, too, was abandoned and removed. Today, only about 7 miles of the line remains, serving various industries in Abilene, operated by Southern Switching Company.
The best resource I can recommend is Vol. 2, No. 1, of The Journal of Texas Shortline Railroads (May/June/July, 1997). You can usually find a copy on eBay.
I hope this is helpful to you. Please feel free to contact me if I can assist you with any specific questions.
Best regards,
Dusty G
Dusty, Thanks for the info on the Abilene & Southern. Always been one of my favorite texas shortline railroads.
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