Marshall station (Texas)

Summary

Marshall station is a railroad station in Marshall, Texas. It is served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system, which operates the Texas Eagle through Marshall each day, with service north to Chicago and west-southwest to Dallas, San Antonio and Los Angeles. The station also houses the Texas and Pacific Railway Depot & Museum.

Marshall, TX
Texas and Pacific Depot in 2005
General information
Location800 North Washington Avenue,
Marshall, Texas
United States
Coordinates32°33′7″N 94°22′3″W / 32.55194°N 94.36750°W / 32.55194; -94.36750
Owned byUnion Pacific Railroad
Line(s)Union Pacific Railroad
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus transport Marshall Public Bus System
Construction
ParkingYes
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeAmtrak: MHL
History
OpenedOctober 20, 1912 (Texas and Pacific)
March 13, 1974 (Amtrak)[1]
Passengers
FY 20225,279[2] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Longview Texas Eagle Texarkana
toward Chicago
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Longview
toward Laredo or Houston
Inter-American Texarkana
toward Chicago
Preceding station Missouri Pacific Railroad Following station
Hallsville
toward El Paso
Texas and Pacific Railway Main Line Scottsville
Texas and Pacific Depot
Texas and Pacific Depot is located in Texas
Texas and Pacific Depot
Texas and Pacific Depot
Texas and Pacific Depot is located in the United States
Texas and Pacific Depot
Texas and Pacific Depot
Architectural styleMission Revival
Part ofGinocchio Historic District (ID74002076[3])
RTHL No.10219
Significant dates
Designated CPDecember 31, 1974
Designated RTHL1985

The ticket office in Marshall is staffed 7 days a week from 7am to 10am, and 5:30pm to 8:30pm.

History edit

 
The museum

The station, also known as the T&P Depot, is the only surviving structure of the Texas and Pacific Railway shops complex which originally consisted of fifty-seven buildings spanning 66 acres (270,000 m2).

The building is located in the Ginocchio Historic District of the National Register of Historic Places and was built in 1912 to house a passenger station and the headquarters of railroad's eastern district. The building welcomed soldiers in both World War I and World War II, and at its height housed telegraph and immigration offices.

During the 1970s a series of events led to the station being abandoned. Amtrak passenger trains used the building beginning on March 13, 1974,[1] however in 1988 the Union Pacific Railroad, which owned the property, filed for a permit to demolish the building. The community intervened and throughout the 1990s worked to save the Depot and the building was restored and resumed service as the local train station; additionally, much of the building houses the railway museum.

In 2008 T&P Railway #400, a 2-8-2 "Mikado" type steam locomotive (originally built in 1915 for the Fort Worth & Denver City Railway and later acquired by the T&P), was moved to the depot museum grounds from where it had been previously kept for years before in City Park,[4] and restoration work on the engine was completed a couple of years later. The restoration work included rust removal and a new coat of paint, as well as stair access to the cab of the engine for visitors. The locomotive is now accessible to the public during regular museum hours.

Centennial celebration edit

On October 20, 2012, the station marked its centennial anniversary with a major community celebration, including free tours of the depot and museum, live music from a Dixieland jazz band, and a traditional lunch picnic on the depot's east lawn. Union Pacific Railroad also contributed significantly to the festivities by bringing the legendary Union Pacific 844 steam locomotive and the UP 150th Anniversary Heritage Train to Marshall for the occasion, as part of its whistle-stop tour celebrating Union Pacific's 150th (sesquicentennial) anniversary. The heritage train with UP 844 and a traveling "museum-on-wheels" baggage car, Promontory, was put on public display at the old T&P rail yard east of the depot, and a free shuttle provided transportation between the depot and the heritage train during the event. The railroad also brought its famous UP No. 956 Mini-Train, which offered free rides around the depot's parking lot.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Marshall Flag Stop Along Amtrak Route". The Marshall News Messenger. February 26, 1974. p. 1. Retrieved October 19, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2022: State of Texas" (PDF). Amtrak. June 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  3. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  4. ^ "T&P 400 in Marshall, Texas". Railway Preservation News. May 2008. Retrieved May 9, 2013.

External links edit

  Media related to Texas and Pacific Railroad Depot (Marshall, Texas) at Wikimedia Commons

  • Marshall, TX – Amtrak
  • Marshall, TX – Station history at Great American Stations (Amtrak)
  • Amtrak Texas Eagle Stations
  • More views of Marshall Amtrak Station (USA Rail Guide -- Train Web)
  • Texas and Pacific Railway Depot, Marshall, Texas (East Texas Historical Association)
  • Texas & Pacific Train Depot (Ginocchio Historical District) from the Center for Regional Heritage Research, Stephen F. Austin State University