Texas
Mexican Railway Company - (en)
The Texas Mexican Railway Company is a Class II railroad (formerly a
Class I railroad) that operates as a subsidiary of Kansas City
Southern Railway in Texas. It is often referred to as the Tex-Mex, or
TexMex, Railway.
On January 1, 2005, Kansas City Southern (KCS) took control of The
Texas Mexican Railway Company and the U.S. portion of the
Texas-Mexican Railway International Bridge in Laredo, Texas. The
railroad is a vital link in KCS's rail network, connecting The KCS and
TFM, S.A. de C.V. While Tex-Mex remains a separate legal entity, KCS
and Tex-Mex are operated as one railroad.
History
19th Century
Chartered in March 1875, the Corpus Christi, San Diego and Rio Grande
Narrow Gauge Railroad Company built a 3-foot gauge line from Corpus
Christi, Texas to Rancho Banquete, Texas between 1875 and 1877, and
then on to San Diego, Texas by 1879. This 52-mile line's main purpose
was to take domestic sheep from Texas ranches to the shores of the
Gulf of Mexico, and received some funding from Richard King and
Mifflin Kenedy. In 1881, the line was sold to a syndicate that
included William J. Palmer and it was given a new charter as the Texas
Mexican Railway Company. Under this document, the line was built an
additional 110 miles to Laredo, Texas. While the charter also allowed
for other lines which would have made a 1,400 mile network, including
one line from San Diego to the Sabine River with branch lines to
Tyler, Galveston, San Antonio, Texas, and Sabine Pass, these
expansions were never constructed. The small Galveston, Brazos and
Colorado Railroad Company was purchased in 1881 for a connection to
Galveston, but a line was never built between the two railroads. In
1883 a bridge was built across the Rio Grande River to Nuevo Laredo,
making the Tex Mex the first Mexican-American rail connection,
although it was not until 1889 that the North American rail system
connected Mexico with Canada.
20th Century
The Mexican government controlled the Tex Mex from 1900 to 1982, when
privatization made it part of Grupo TMM. The railway became standard
gauge on July 17, 1902. In 1906 it bought the Texas Mexican Northern
Railway, and in 1930, the San Diego and Gulf Railway.
Ordered on April 22, 1938, seven Whitcomb Locomotive Works diesel
locomotives were delivered between August and November of 1939. While
some steam locomotives were kept until 1946 or 1947, they were almost
never used, and the Tex-Mex is considered to be the first railway in
the world to dieselise.
They also began operating a 19 mile government railroad from Corpus
Christi to a naval air station in 1940. In 1995, the expanding KCS
bought 49 percent of Tex Mex, and in 1997, the Surface Transportation
Board granted trackage rights to the Tex Mex to connect to the KCS at
Beaumont, Texas. Responding to increased international trade between
the US and Mexico, the railroad built a large railroad yard and
intermodal freight transport facility at Laredo in 1998.
21st Century
In 2002, however, both companies sold their shares to Grupo
Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana. In August 2004, KCS again
purchased a controlling interest in Tex Mex, although they were held
by a trust company until the Surface Transportation Board approved the
move for January 1, 2005.
