History of the Railroad

History of the Railroad. . Early trails in the Hill Country were game trails that were traveled by prehistoric Americans, American Indians, Spanish explorers, cowboys, military troops, and then European settlers. To the east, near Sisterdale, was the ancient and well traveled Pinta Trail. Another oft traveled trail ran through an early 1850s shingle camp known as Brownsboro, less than one quarter mile east of the park. By the 1880s these, along with other roads and trails, took a backseat to seemingly endless ribbons of steel rail meandering through the countryside. , In 1874, the San Antonio and Fredericksburg Narrow Gauge Railway Company was chartered to construct a line from San Antonio to Fredericksburg. It was not until 1913 that the 24 mile San Antonio, Fredericksburg and Northern Railway Company (SAF&N) rail line was completed connecting Fredericksburg to the SA&AP line at Fredericksburg Junction, at the Guadalupe River trestle near Comfort. Four years later the SAF&N went into receivership and was sold to the recently chartered Fredericksburg and Northern Railway Company (F&N). The F&N was never profitable and was sold to a salvage company in 1942, for the war effort. , The San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway Company (SA&AP) was incorporated in 1884. By the fall of 1887 the SA&AP had completed the 71 mile branch line from San Antonio to Kerrville, then known as the northwest extension. 500 feet of this original SA&AP railroad right-of-way is located in the southwest corner of the park. , Nearby remnants from these two Hill Country railroads: , Waring Depot - One of the few remaining SA&AP combination depots in existence. , Guadalupe River Railroad Bridge - Originally constructed of timber trusses. Later, these were replaced with steel truss spans atop hewn limestone abutments. , Old Tunnel - The fourth of six railroad tunnels constructed in Texas, and at 920 feet, the longest at the time. Currently a nursery cave for over a million Mexican freetail bats, owned and managed by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department., Captions , Lower Left: Comfort - Station, Texas , Upper Right: Old Spanish Trail - Southern Borderland Trunkline , Middle Right: Fredericksburg and Northern Ry. Tunnel