Arlington Texas & Pacific Railroad Train Depot

Arlington Texas and Pacific Railroad Train Depot. A Sisterhood Begins. Although the only remaining piece of the depot is the wooden platform, it is a reminder of the central role the station had in building the identity of Arlington - one of prosperity, camaraderie, and generosity - that has become known around the world. In fact, the train platform is the foundation of the sisterhood between Arlington and the German town of Bad Königshofen, one of the longest lasting Sister City relationships first established in 1951., That year, Ms. Irene von Falkenried, pen pal of Ms. Theda Howell of Arlington, traveled with Kurt Zühlke, City Manager of Königshofen, Germany - later named Bad Königshofen - on a study tour to the United States. The tour included a visit to Arlington where the two pen pals met in person. This led to a meeting with Mayor Tom Vandergriff, where he heard about the plight of the Königshofen community experiencing an influx of refugees from East Germany after world war two. At that moment, he challenged the residents of Arlington to pull together and gather supplies to send directly to Königshofen., Although Arlington was just a bit larger than Königshofen with a population around 7,500, many residents gathered on this T&P train platform as the train pulled away from the station on February 1, 1952. This was the first of four aid shipments sent to Königshofen from Arlington's train depot. Although the depot's status as a community anchor began to wane in the 1950s, the station and the tales of this event would shape this community for decades to come. Today, the city of Bad Königshofen remembers the generosity of Arlingtonians so fondly that they named their main city park "Arlington Park", and the Arlington flag flies proudly when anyone from Arlington arrives for a visit. Arlington and Bad Königshofen renewed their relationship through Sister Cities at a ceremony on this train platform in 2023., Photo Captions , Top Left: Mayor Tom Vandergriff leads the community in celebration as they prepare to send off the first shipment leaving the Arlington train depot in February 1952. City of Arlington Collection., Top Right: Mr. and Mrs. J.T. Howell, and Chamber of Commerce Manager Fred Ward (right) load a box of food headed for Königshofen, Germany. UTA Special Collections, J.W. Dunlop Photograph Collection., Bottom Left: Women of Arlington pose proudly with the first shipment that left from the Arlington train depot in 1952. They led the effort to collect the supplies that would be sent to Bad Königshofen through 1955. City of Arlington Collection., Bottom Right: Arlington residents load the boxcar with supplies including clothing, bedding, canned goods, needles with thread, among other critical need items. City of Arlington Collection.