Wreck of the Don Milo. (original) (raw)

There are times when things just sort of "pop up" when I am doing research for a column. For instance, one of my colleagues here at the newspaper asked me when the railroad quit providing service to Hallettsville. I was involved with researching another story when that question was asked, so I put it in my brain's library of things to do and went on about my business.

It seems, however, that just like my colleague; the question about the railroad was not going to be put off for long. While browsing through some old newspapers, lo and behold, up pops a story about the railroad wanting to leave town.

That story was in the Dec. 2, 1949, issue of The Lavaca County Tribune; the headline, along with a sub-head, read "Hallettsville to Lose Passenger Train Service - Discontinuance of 'Dinky' Trains is Asked Due to Financial Loss."

The Texas and New Orleans Railroad Company asked the Texas Railroad Commission for permission to cease operation of Southern-Pacific passenger trains Numbers 309 and 310 that ran between Houston and Kenedy.

According to the newspaper, "These are the 'dinky' trains that come into Hallettsville from the west in the morning and from the east at night." Evidently the passenger trains were causing the company to lose a lot of money. So, they pulled the plug on the rail service that the people of Hallettsville had depended on for years.

Figures were given about the money lost. From January through October of 1949, the company had expenses of 101,042andtheirrevenuewas101,042 and their revenue was 101,042andtheirrevenuewas52,404. The company reported that they would lose over $58,000 annually. The story also included information that these losses did not include what the company was spending on maintenance to the tracks and buildings.

As a result of these financial problems, not only did the passenger train service cease, trucking companies began to haul commercial freight. Days of the railroad service to many small Texas towns ceased to exist.

I do not know if 1949 was the last year for train service in Hallettsville, but there is plenty of information about when it started. South of town, near the Lavaca River, stands a Texas Historical Marker (Location: Main St. & Russell St., Halletsville). It was erected by the Texas Historical Commission in 2009.