Track 12 - Selected Short Lines

The major Class 1 railroads comprised only a part of the rail transportation picture in North America. There were dozens if not hundreds of narrow gauge and short line railroads scattered throughout the continent. Some, such as the Nevada Northern, were intentionally designed and built to service a single community or industry. Others, such as the Waco, Beaumont, Trinity, and Sabine, began life with great aspirations only to run into the roadblock of harsh reality before their builders' dreams could be realized. Regardless, in the years before the hegemony of the automobile and the taxpayer-subsidized highway became absolute, they were an important piece of the transportation picture for the communities they served.

The Trains:

The Chili Line

General William Palmer originally intended for his Denver & Rio Grande to enter Mexico City—but it never reached any farther south than this branch line to Santa Fe.
Chili Line - June, 1941

Georgia Railroad Mixed Trains 1 and 2

This mixed train service between Atlanta and Augusta, Georgia lasted into the 1980s.
Georgia Railroad Mixed Trains 1 and 2 - April, 1971

The Silverton

This line from Durango to Silverton was built to tap the great mining riches of the area--but its spectacular scenery would keep its passenger service alive long after the Denver & Rio Grande Western's other narrow-gauge lines had been reduced to freight-only service and then abandoned. It prospers even today under new management.
The Silverton - June 1941
The Silverton - August, 1950

The Steptoe Valley Flyer

The Nevada Northern, built to connect the copper mines of Ely, Nevada to the outside world, maintained this passenger service through late 1941.
Steptoe Valley Flyer - June, 1941

W.B.T. & S. Trains 14, 15, 17, and 18

The Waco, Beaumont, Trinity, and Sabine Railway began life as a logging railroad with high hopes of becoming an East Texas bridge route--and ended an ignominious footnote in the record books with the longest duration in bankruptcy in the history of Texas railroading.
W.B.T. & S. Trains 14, 15, 17, & 18 - September, 1938