Washington's Railroad History

Washington's Railroad History. Railroad Heritage Park. , The Pacific Railroad became a reality in Washington in February, 1855. This event allowed Washington to become the largest and most industrialized city in Franklin County. Many changes have occurred since that time within the railroad system., The Missouri Pacific Railroad gained control of the Texas and Pacific Railroad during the 1960's. Then, during the 1980's, the Missouri Pacific merged into the Union Pacific Railroad system. During that time the laws that required a caboose to be on every train were also eliminated. Thus, Missouri Pacific began donating cabooses to cities and towns along the railroad system's routes as a symbol of the part the railroad played in the history of the territory it served., The Texas and Pacific Railway built Caboose #11122 at Marshall, Texas in 1929. The City of Washington received the railroad caboose and placed it here for public display on September 11, 1986., The buildings on each side of the Railroad Heritage Park were used as passenger and freight depots since the railroad system began in the mid-1800's. The wooden structure to the west was built in 1865 as a replacement for the original depot that was destroyed during the Civil War. The brick building to the east was constructed in 1923, and it was fully renovated and re-dedicated on August 14, 1999., Historical information compliments of Gerald J. Michels, Jr. and Joann Redetic.