Poor ol' SAP

Poor ol' SAP. Frenzied and frugal fabrication is formula for failure. Like most fledgling railroads, the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway (SA&AP) Company, or more affectionately known as the “SAP,” was in a hurry to lay the rails to reach its destination. Upon reaching its destinations, the railroad could collect on financial pledges and subscriptions and begin in earnest to generate revenue from freight and passenger service. As the railroad began to generate income, some of these rather meager profits would be reinvested to construct sturdier bridges and other vital infrastructure improvements. It was just this practice of rapid, shoestring construction that proved to be the death knell that eventually led to the bankruptcy and demise of the SA&AP., On January 2, 1890, a timber trestle spanning the Lavaca River near Hallettsville collapsed beneath Engine No. 56 and its ill-fated freight and passenger cars. Several deaths resulted from this tragic incident; the subsequent lawsuits proved too much for the young railroad, and so the “SAP” went into receivership on July 14, 1890., The Kerrville branch of the SA&AP constructed numerous bridges to span the flood-prone seasonal creeks, streams, and rivers of the Texas Hill Country. One of the greatest examples of Hill Country railroad bridge engineering is still in existence today. The SA&AP Guadalupe River bridge, over 100 years old, spans the river with three steel pin-connected trusses resting atop four limestone bridge supports crafted of hand-hewn limestone quarried nearby over a century ago. The original bridge consisted of two wooden approach bents and three one-hundred-foot-long wooden bridge spans spanning the river., On July 15, 1900, the debris-choked floodwaters of the Guadalupe rose above the stone bridge supports and swept away the middle and eastern bridge spans. For five months, Comfort, Center Point, and Kerrville were without rail transportation and would not see service until the end of that year as repairs were made to the bridge and wooden approaches. To prevent a similar occurrence, the four limestone bridge supports were extended an additional seven feet, and a steel bridge span was placed in the middle span and a wood span was reinstalled to complete the eastern span. Later, the two remaining wood bridge spans were replaced with steel bridges to provide greater carrying capacity, decreased maintenance costs, and increased longevity., During the early 1970s, the Southern Pacific Railroad was salvaging all the rail and steel bridges along its route from Camp Stanley to Kerrville. Before Southern Pacific began contacting railroad companies in Mexico, Central and South America as prospective buyers for the bridge spans, an arrangement was made with the family of whom the original land for the bridge was purchased, and the entire bridge was retained. Today, it remains in place and is used as a bridge to transport vehicles, farm implements, and livestock across the Guadalupe River floodwaters., Numerous smaller bridges were needed to span the perennial creeks and dry drainages of the Hill Country. The original bridge constructed to span the Cibolo Creek canyon was a single wooden truss bridge that closely matches one of the original bridge spans of the Guadalupe River bridge. Years later, this wood-truss bridge was replaced with a stronger, less expensive girder bridge so that heavier trains and rolling stock could be used on the Kerrville branch. Sturdy bridges were needed as well along Balcones Creek, Big Joshua Creek, Cypress Creek, and Quinlan Creek. To enable the San Antonio, Fredericksburg and Northern Railway Company (SAF&N) trains to traverse the many creeks and drainages along the route, twenty-four wood trestles were constructed, equating to one per mile., Similar to the SA&AP, the F&N constructed a 300-foot bridge to span the Pedernales River, about four miles southeast of Fredericksburg. Built after the devastating flood of 1900 that occurred on both the Guadalupe and Pedernales Rivers, the F&N Pedernales River bridge sustained heavy damage in October of 1936. Close to one thousand feet of rail, along with the three bridge spans, were swept downstream. Ribbons of rail were wrapped like baling wire around the tall cypress trees several hundred feet away., Captions: , Derailment of SA&AP on Lavaca River in 1890. , Reconstruction of Guadalupe River bridge after 1900 flood. , Steeltruss bridge atop cut-limestone piers spanning Guadalupe River. , Early 1900's postcard showing Cibolo Creek flood level. , Hinky Dinky crossing the cavernous Cibolo. , SAF&N timber bridge spanning Block Creek enroute to tunnel.