SA and AP

SA and AP. San Antonio to Boerne. , SAN ANTONIO - M.P. 238 , The SA&AP wood frame passenger depot was located at the corner of Aransas Street, later changed to S. Alamo Street. and S. Flores Street. During its operation the ground floor provided passenger services including segregated waiting rooms, lunchroom and baggage check. The second floor housed railroad offices. The building later served as a grain storehouse and furniture warehouse prior to its demolition in December 1939. The freight depot, train yard and service facilities were located further east, down the track in an area known as Yoakum Bend and next to the Lone Star Brewery along Probandt St., The general offices of the SA&AP were located in the recently constructed Maverick Building located at the corner of Houston and Alamo. By 1912, the head office was relocated to the Bedell Bldg, Avenue "C" and Travis Street, designed by renowned San Antonio architect, Atlee B. Ayers., I&GN CROSSING , This was the intersection of the International and Great Northern Railroad and SA&AP Kerrville Branch, branch line passing within a couple hundred feet of the I&GN passenger depot., GRACE - M.P. 246 , A 954 fool spur was at this location., ROBARDS - M.P. 247 , Robards began as a flag stop along the SA&AP in the beginning of the 1900's. At a flag stop, if a passenger wished to board the train, they would wave a flag or handkerchief to signal to engineer they desired to board the train. Later a small passenger shelter, cotton platform, stock pen, store and his foot siding was constructed to accommodate freight and passengers from the small settlement., SHAVANO - M.P. 251 , Formerly known as Stowers Ranch, Shavano also began as a flag stop for the SA&AP. Later a stock pen was constructed, serviced by a 309 foot spur. A general store, saloon, school and post office served this agricultural shipping point., OLGA - M.P. 253 , Olga had a 1004 foot siding to store flatcars and hoppers loaded with cut limestone and gravel. A 1165 foot spur was used to service the quarry, near the present day intersection of Interstate 10 and Loop 1604., BECKMANN - M.P. 254 , Beckmann was a small settlement located near a limestone and gravel quarry that is presently the site of Fiesta Texas. This settement was named after the owner of the property, Mr. Franz Heinrich Beckmann, a former shoemaker from Germany. At Beckmann there was a spur and a scale owned by D.M. Picton that was used to load large limestone blocks and crushed stone to be used for buildings and road base material. Some of the stone was also shipped to Aranas Pass to construct jetties along the Texas Coast. There was a wye also at this location to facilitate stone shipments north or south along the Kerrville Branch., VIVA - M.P. 256 , The small settlement of Viva began as a watering point for the steam locomotives of the SA&AP. Eventually a depot and freight platform were constructed along with a section house and hand car shed to accommodate the section crew responsible for maintaining the rails, bridges and switches along a segment of the route. There were several structures and a water tower in Viva, pumping water from Leon Creek to fill the tenders of the steam locomotives, in addition to a passing siding measuring 1392 feet for holding up to 23 freight cars. Not too long after world war one, in 1922, Bexar County Commissioners officially removed Viva from the Bexar County map., LEON SPRINGS/ALE - M.P. 258 , Early travelers through the hill country often stopped at Leon Springs for the perenmal water. This site later became a stage stop along the currently named Boerne Stage Road. Near Leon Creek, Max Aue constructed the Leon Springs Supply Company, which became the Settlement Inn and the first stop of a stage line between San Antonio and San Diego, California. To accommodate the increasing number of travelers, in 1879 Mr. Aue constructed the Leon Springs Hotel adjacent to the Inn. Eight years later the SA&AP completed the line through Leon Springs and the small passenger depot was named Aue Station. In addition to these three buildings were several saloons, blacksmiths shop, warehouse, steam cotton gin, cotton platform, hardware store, post office, school, general store and icehouse. The icehouse was constructed to store beer transported from San Antonio breweries to be sold to soldiers training at Leon Springs Military Reservation. The SA&AP constructed a passing track of 1293 feet and a house track measuring 1649 feet to accommodate the rail traffic., REMOUNT STATION #1/CAMP STANLEY JUNCTION - M.P. 259 , This U.S. Army ammunitions and training facility was originally named Remount, referring to the Calvary presence and horse transportation facilities located at the military camp. The Calvary conducted maneuvers on the Leon Springs Military Reservation, renamed Camp Funston, later to become Camp Bullis. The SA&AP constructed a depot located inside the wye along the main line of the Kerrville Branch, in addition to a 2021 foot siding to handle the heavy rail traffic. The military constructed an extensive spur network connecting numerous warehouses, passenger depot, freight house, stock pens for live stock and loading platforms., PFEIFFER - M.P. 262 , A siding measuring 1392 feet was located alongside ranch property owned by several members of the Pfeiffer family in Bexar County., VAN RAUB - M.P. 263 , This community named after Byron Van Raub, an English gentlemen rancher, was established along the route of the Kerrville Branch. It is said that this successful gentleman rancher developed the first dude ranch in Texas as a means to train fellow Englishman in the rigors of creating successful Texas ranching operations. At the height of this community of about 300 residents, there was a depot/store/post office, church, cotton gin, school and weekly newspaper. A 552 foot spur was installed to service a cotton platform northeast of the depot., BRADEN'S QUARRY - M.P. 264 , This was a small 456 foot spur to service a small limestone, sand and gravel quarry located near Balcones Creek, the dividing line between Bexar and Kendall Counties., CIBOLO CREEK BRIDGE , Originally a wooden truss bridge spanned the Rio Cibolo, later a steel girder bridge was installed to handle increasing weight of larger locomotives and freight traffic. This bridge spans one of the most spectacular geologic features in the Texas Hill County. The clear waters of the gently meandering Cibolo Creek cuts a narrow route through an ancient reef to sculpt the riotous, cascading Herff Falls from the deeply honey combed limestone walls to form a cavernous gorge eighty feet in depth only to quickly resume its quiet path, mysteriously disappearing underground points unknown., Captions , Early aerial view of San Antonio which shows the SA&AP passenger depot (top center), freight yard, Pioneer Flour Mills (top right), and Union Stock Yards (lower left)., Waiting for the arrival of the train at the Leon Springs Aue Station. , The Van Raub general store and post office served as the SA&AP depot. . This historical marker was erected by City of Boerne - Parks and Recreation. It is in Boerne in Kendall County Texas