Any other Texas and Pacific fans out there?

Also, if the T-NM had trackage from Monahans to Big Spring, it would have to run South of Midland and Odessa.  All cities mentioned are located on Hwy 80 in the time before I-20 was built, and bypasses some areas.  But, Hwy-80 still remains, none the less, and is direct link to Big Spring, Stanton, Midland, Odessa, Penwell and all the way to Monahans, and beyond.

Jesse   TCA

Couple of things:  No TNM track  Monahans  to Big Spring.  In Monahans the 2 roads shared a yard where traffic was interchanged.  TNM  track ran from Monahans to Lovington,  NM  with a short branch west to another town  Wink, Tx

Yes  the bad truck and train accident in Midland killing several people was on the main line of UP (T&P) in Midland itself just a few years ago and there may still some active lawsuits on it .  I have always thought the  60 mph train  speed limit was to high in city area with heavy traffic.

Yes there were some tracks south in Midland a long time ago and  almost none today, but were all T&P.  Odessa's track 's continue to expand and the yard  was also enlarged recently.

  There are many tracks in Odessa south of the main line and the refinery.  In fact a map of them looks like spaghetti on a plate.   At one time there were more than 100 switches off the main line in Odessa . There was a carbon black plant that put out a large and very dark  smoke cloud that would do a steam engine justice.  There were several carbon black plants in the area.    But, here again there was not any steam running in Texas when FW&D finally retired its last steam engine in 1959 that had been only occasionally used as backup power.  The last one I actually saw was  a 2-8-0  in Childress Tx in 1957 switching in the yard.  The last FW&D engine retired was a 4-6-2.

Good book in construction and abandonment with maps is  " Texas Railroads, A record of construction and Abandonment"  by Charles P Zlatkovich, a recognized expert on this topic.  Bureau of Research, Univ. of Texas

There was an unusual steam engine on the T&P from 1958 to about 1962.  It was a retired 2-8-2 of the FW&D #410 bought to put into service in Louisiana for flood duty.  T&P picked it up in Ft Worth and pulled it to Marshall, Tx to a T&P shop and they got it running.  The Red River would overflow and flood T&P's line south of Shreveport every spring and diesels could not go through water without shorting out traction motors.  The 410 renumbered to 400,  was classed as work equipment only, not a locomotive, although it was.  But it never handled any train away from that area of flood water and of course never appeared in west Texas. It was kept in Marshall when not being used and today is a display at the Marshall station.  

I am very familiar with the area around Midland-Odessa, and Monahans.  Yes, T&P made many fortunes from the Permian basin on oil.  And although now UP, it is still making a killing.  TNM is now owned by a short line. All research I have done does not show another railroad running south from Odessa or Midland.  If you find one, let me know.

rattler21 posted:

GGD heavyweight baggage car

First Williams(REA) 17" heavyweight baggage car and GGD T&P heavyweight baggage car.

GGD T&P heavyweight baggage car and PRB double door 50' boxcar.

John in Lansing, ILL

If the Baggage and Boxcar are still available I am interested. Please call my office at 817 335-9440.

Griff Murphey

inyerdte

Tom, I believe there is misunderstanding in verbiage, sir.  There are tracks running on the South side of Midland, East towards Big Spring and West to Odessa.  As for any trackage that runs South toward Ozona or old ghost town of Upton, never knew of any.  In fact, the town of Upton became a ghost town because the railroad(s) ran farther North of there, Midland, and never came into the area the town founders were falsely informed of.  I very well remember the Union Carbide Carbon Black Plant between Odessa and Monahans.  Turn on your headlights and turn off air conditioner, windows all rolled up...…   And take your car to the car wash, or rinse with garden hose when you got home.   Yes, very good and favorite memories of visiting kin in Monahans, Wink, Kermit, Odessa and going to the Sand Hills State Park.   As a Boy Scout in the late '50s and early '60s, camped out at the ghost town of Upton, Sand Hills State Park, and the old Mobil Oil Pegasus town site.  The old Pegasus town site was located several miles South West of Odessa, West of the meteor crater.  But, that was before people realized it was a meteor crater and not just an old galichy pit.  Just how do you spell "glichety" ???  LOL???   Another note, many post WWII B-17s, B-25s and other USAAF planes were flown into Midland Airfield and moved by truck and rail to Penwell area where they were buried in long trenches for disposal.  Used to have copy of article from Midland Reporter Telegram written about the "Lost Air Force of West Texas" from the late 1960s.  

Jesse   TCA 

John;

      Sorry - I mistyped my office phone number which is 817-335-9440. My zip code is 76104. I am a class A 70 y.o. computer dumb bunny and I was trying to look you up in the directory and I could make no sense of it. I'll try again but the easiest thing would be to call me at my office. Nobody wants to come to the dentist the day before Thanksgiving but I will be there all day if you will call me. I set up a loop of O-36 and do a little Christmas layout in my waiting room on a table and will be cracking out my shorty MTH cars and preferred motive power of an old Lionel 675. Regards, Griff