HISTORY
BY LAUREN CANTERBERRY & ERIC WEILBACHER
The museum has several model trains that visitors can learn to operate.
A TRAIN RIDE THROUGH TIME
The railroad has played an important role in New Braunfels’ history since the freight and passenger rail line was built in 1880.
1880
The International & Great Northern Railroad builds a track through New Braunfels.
The museum is housed in a depot that was originally built in 1907. (Photos by Eric Weilbacher/Community Impact Newspaper)
1885 1903 1956 1907
IGN builds its rst depot in New Braunfels.
The NewBraunfels RailroadMuseum Nonpro t preserves legacy of New Braunfels passenger rail travel I n 1907, the International & Great Northern Railroad opened the New Braunfels depot on West San Antonio Street that has since become railroad employees. The museum is also home to a 0-6-0T Porter locomotive, a Missouri Paci c caboose, a box car and a Pullman dining car, Riordon said.
The Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad is permitted to use IGN’s track connecting San Antonio to Austin.
New Braunfels’ current depot is completed.
IGN is merged into Missouri Paci c Railroad Co., a subsidiary of Union Paci c Railway Co.
the New Braunfels Railroad Museum. Passenger and freight trains have rumbled through the depot since it opened, though the rail lines have changed hands numerous times, museum employee Susan Riordon said. “In the 1880s, the International & Great Northern Railroad rst started building the lines through New Braunfels. … The Missouri, Kansas, Texas line kind of absorbed them. … And now it’s all owned by Union Paci c,” Riordon said. “There used to be so many di erent lines, and they’ve just all been merged together.” Today, Union Paci c still operates freight trains through the city and Amtrak passenger trains traveling between San Antonio and Chicago pass through, though they no longer stop at the depot, according to the museum website. “Passenger service was active here until the spring of 1977 when Amtrak took over, and this was one of the stops they canceled,” Riordon said. “However, [the trains] will still stop in San Antonio, San Marcos and Austin.” In 1985, the New Braunfels Historic Railroad and Modelers Society coordinated with the city and the railroad to turn the closed depot into a nonpro t museum, Riordon said. The group was granted a long-term lease in 1986 and began renovating the building and created exhibits highlighting aspects of local railroad history. Displays at the museum include timetables, passes, uniforms, a complete telegraphy system, model trains and other equipment used by
“We completely renovated the dining car, which was originally a 1922 Pullman passenger car,” she said. “When we got it, it was completely rusted out with broken windows, and we just decided to renovate it into a similar dining car experience.” Guests to the museum can step back in time by touring the cars, and the dining car, which can seat 48 people, is available for lease for private events. Children who visit the museum can learn how to run the model trains and receive junior engineer certi cates, Riordon said, and the museum hosts two train shows each year at the New Braunfels Civic and Convention Center. The museum is open to the public at no charge, and schools, churches and nonpro t organizations are able to schedule eld trips to educate students about the history of railroads in New Braunfels.
1977
Amtrak takes over passenger service in the area and does not stop in New Braunfels. The New Braunfels Historic Railroad and Modelers Society is granted a long-term lease for the local depot and turns it into a museum.
1986
1988
Union Paci c absorbs MKT.
SOURCE: TEXAS STATE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
TheNewBraunfels RailroadMuseum 302 W. San Antonio St., New Braunfels 830-627-2447 www.newbraunfelsrailroadmuseum.org Hours: Mon.-Fri., Sun. noon-4 p.m.; Sat. 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
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AMissouri Paci c caboose is one of the train cars on display.
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COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER • COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
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