A History of Trains in Austin
1871: Austin gets a train.
This is the first still existing picture of a train in Austin. It is believed to have been taken in 1871. It is pictured here stopping at Waller Creek, supposedly to let passengers off at the depot several blocks behind it.
The original “depot” was an open-air platform on East 5th Street in Austin. The tracks ran down 5th street. The rail line was called the Houston & Texas Central.
Snipped from the 1887 Birds Eye map, here you can see the open air depot 15 years after it was built. You can see that it crossed Waller creek at the far left in two places— on 3rd and 4th streets. On the far right, the tracks are labeled. By 1887, the rail roads had grown rapidly in Texas and there were two lines using this depot. Houston & Texas Central (H&TC) and Austin & Northwestern (A&N). This depot was sometimes referred to as “The narrow gauge depot” referring to the width of the tracks.
1882: First Proper Depot Built
Railroads rapidly expanded across Texas and the United States during this time. Many rail lines shared depots. Austinites had nothing but complaints about their open air platform. They were hot, the sun was in their eyes, and there weren’t any trees planted to provide shade to the ladies!
Austin citizens expressed anger at the City Council for setting what they considered unreasonable restrictions on the railroads, preventing them from obtaining right-of-way to build the Union Depot that Austinites so vocally wanted.
In 1881, the city council granted right-of-way to the Houston & Texas Central railroad, initiating creation of a Union Depot at Congress & 3rd. They most likely used an existing structure as the depot, but it did the job. Service opened in May, 1882. It functioned as a depot for International & Great Northern and Houston & Texas Central together. Their union would only last a few years.
In 1888, International & Great Northern upgraded the depot to a much more spectacular structure. Then, in 1902, Houston & Texas Central built one catty-corner to it at Congress & 3rd.
International & Great Northern Depot at SW Congress & 3rd. 1888 - 1955.
Houston & Texas Central Depot under Construction at Congress & 3rd in 1902.
Houston & Texas Central Depot stood at NE Congress & 3rd from 1902 to 1965.
The three depots — the original narrow gauge platform in East Austin, and the two depots at 3rd & Congress — would remain the three main Austin depots until the mid 1900’s.
3rd & Congress
1880’s or 1890’s photo captures a crowd at 3rd & Congress. The building in this photo still stands.
The 1880 Austin Directory entries regarding the railroads and depots indicate that H&TC and I&GN were the only train companies in town at that time:
The 1885 Austin Directory provides an extensive list of destinations. In just 14 years, trains had thrown the country wide open for Austinites. A third line, Austin & Northwestern, had entered the scene as well.
In the early 1900’s, Missouri Kansas & Texas came to Austin and began sharing the H&TC depot. This was the southern branch of the Union Pacific Railroad.
Fun
Fact!
The Missouri Kansas & Texas merged with Mountain Pacific Railroad in the 1980’s. The tracks still run through Austin. The highway that runs alongside it is called Mopac, short for Mountain Pacific.
When the first train came to Austin, trains were already well established in the eastern and southern states. For context, here is a train map of the United States in 1874. Austin was on the dividing line between East and West, or between ample railroads and sparse railroads. Source: Texas State Archives Map Collection
1883 Map of railroads in Texas, with all stops labeled. Source: Library of Congress
1926 Map of Texas Railroads - Source: Library of Congress