The abandoned railroad route between Bremond and Waco, known as The Waco Branch, of which 40.99 miles have been abandoned, was once operated in Texas by the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Texas & New Orleans Railroad.
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According to the SPV Texas Railroad Atlas, this information is incorrect. SP's Waco Branch did not extend all the way to Waco, but rather, ran from Bremond to Marlin, where it connected with UP's former HTC and IGN lines. The Marlin-Waco segment is still very much an active line. I don't know who wrote up that abandonment application, but obviously, they were under the influence of some type of alcoholic beverage, a practice that was not uncommon among railroaders in the '60s and '70s.
A Former Railfan Fort Worth, TX 11/24/2012
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SP/T&NO did petition for abandonment of the entire line; however, the IGN (MP) had a somewhat parallel line from Marlin to Waco that was inferior and ulitmately picked up the SP segment to replace its own. Perhaps this will clear up the confusion from the previous comment.
"The Texas & New Orleans (T&NO) Railroad, successor to the H&TC, abandoned the Bremond to Waco route through Marlin in 1965. Missouri Pacific (MP), successor to I-GN, took this opportunity to eliminate the lengthy segment from Marlin to Waco via Mart by purchasing the T&NO's more direct route. Rather than connecting to the T&NO tracks at the Tower 191 crossing, MP chose to eliminate the tracks on Ward St. by using T&NO's entire route through town. This eliminated the need for Tower 191, which was decommissioned, but necessitated construction of a short connecting line in south Marlin. Today, this route through Marlin is a Union Pacific (UP) main line."
Source: http://www.towers.txrrhistory.com/191/191.htm
Burleson Smith Fairfax County, VA 3/6/2013
Thank You, Mr. Smith, for that very informative explanation regarding this abandonment. Very helpful. Interesting to note, also, is that MP's ex-IGN Waco-Marlin line was abandoned in 1967, coincidentally, at the same time MP's ex-IGN Fort Worth-Waco line was abandoned. MP utilized trackage rights over The Katy from Fort Worth to Waco, eliminating the need for the Marlin line. Neither the Marlin, nor the Fort Worth lines, were "direct" routes. The old saying "The shortest distance between two points is a straight line." is very applicable here....
Joe Rogers Alvarado, TX 3/9/2013
I knew the crew that last worked it. Years ago when my family ( mother) went on trips, my granddad had a pass. Mother told me that when she was a little girl they would catch the Sunbeam to Bremond, then wait 8 hours for the mix( had two passengers on the rear of the freight train). Ride it to Waco, catch the Katy to Morgan Tx. A all day trip. Before my mother pass, I drove her to Morgan from Ennis is less then two hours. She told me this story.
Dane Williams Ennis, TX 5/8/2013