Groveton, Lufkin and Northern Railway
Overview
Main region(s)East Texas
Parent companyTrinity County Lumber Company[1]
Dates of operationDecember 1, 1908 (1908-12-01)–circa 1932 (1932)[lower-alpha 1]
PredecessorTexas Northern Railway
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The Groveton, Lufkin and Northern Railway (GL&N) was a standard gauge U.S. shortline railroad located in East Texas. Originally chartered on May 15, 1908, as the Texas Northern Railway Company, it changed its name on August 17, 1908.

On December 1, 1908, the GL&N purchased the 21-mile (34 km) private logging railroad between Groveton and Vair from the Trinity County Lumber Company, its corporate parent; the rail line had been built in 1900 by lumber company owner James Stanley Joyce to serve the company sawmill near Groveton.[1][2][3] The sawmill, one of the largest in the Southern United States, was the predominant local employer.[4] The GL&N upgraded the railroad in 1909 and obtained operating rights on the Texas South-Eastern Railroad from Vair to Lufkin. In 1926, the GL&N reported owning three locomotives and 104 cars, with passenger earnings of $8,000 ($132,241 in 2022) and freight earnings of $233,000 ($3.85 million in 2022).[2]

At Groveton, the GL&N interchanged with a branch line of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway which later became independent as the Waco, Beaumont, Trinity and Sabine Railway (WBT&S).[5][6]

By the late 1920s, timber in the area had become badly depleted.[4][6] The Trinity County Lumber Company was able to maintain operations longer than other local lumber companies, but finally capitulated and shut down the sawmill at midnight on December 31, 1930.[4] In 1931, the sawmill was dismantled, the population of Groveton plummeted from around 4,000 to 1,046, and GL&N revenue drastically fell.[2][4] The GL&N was abandoned sometime between 1931 and 1934.[lower-alpha 1]

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 Sources differ regarding the abandonment date; Maxwell states 1931,[7] Young states 1932,[2] and Durrenberger states 1934.[1]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 Durrenberger 1988, p. 91.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Young, Nancy (January 1, 1995) [1952]. "Groveton, Lufkin and Northern Railway". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  3. ↑ Maxwell 1998, p. 73.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Hensley, Patricia B. (January 1, 1995) [1952]. "Groveton, TX". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  5. ↑ Durrenberger 1988, pp. 90–91.
  6. 1 2 Werner, George C. (January 1, 1995) [1952]. "Waco, Beaumont, Trinity and Sabine Railway". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  7. ↑ Maxwell 1998, p. 81.

Bibliography

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