Burlington-Rock Island Railroad

Infobox SG rail
railroad_name=Burlington-Rock Island Railroad
logo_filename=
logo_size=
old_gauge=
marks=BRI
locale=Texas
start_year=1902
end_year=1965
hq_city=Teague, Texas
The Burlington-Rock Island Railroad reporting mark|BRI officially came into existence on July 7, 1930, through the reorganization of its parent road, the Trinity and Brazos Valley Railway Company (T&BV), AKA the “Boll Weevil" [http://www.texas-on-line.com/graphic/teague.htm (accessed January 19, 2007).] .

Like its predecessor, the BRI was jointly owned by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (Rock Island), with each company owning half of the railroad. "It took its new name from the two owning systems and operated convert|303|mi|km of track in 1930"cite web| title=Handbook of Texas Online, s.v.| url=http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/BB/eqb18.html| accessdate=2007-01-19 ] .

The ancestor of the BRI, the T&BV, originally was chartered on October 9 1902, its first trackage consisted of an convert|88|mi|km|sing=on line from Cleburne to Mexia, Texas, and was finished in January 1904. Due to a shortage of operating capitol to complete the project, the railroad was acquired by the Colorado and Southern Railway in August 1905, which later sold a half interest in its investment to the Rock Island. The Colorado and Southern was bought by the Burlington in 1908. Due to the influx of funds from these well-heeled financial partners, by 1907 the T&BV line had been extended to Houston from the Mexia terminal, with a line also added between Waxahachie and Teague. Trackage rights were also soon arranged with other railroads linking the T&BV with Waxahachie and Dallas, Cleburne and Fort Worth, and Houston and Galveston.

With ongoing financial problems resulting from inadequate revenue, the Trinity and Brazos Valley went into receivership in 1914. A series of receivers were appointed including John W. Robbins (1914), L.H. Atwell, Jr, and in 1919, Gen. John A. Hulen. Hulen eventually became the first president of the BRI when the T&BV reorganized.

Hulen had begun improvements on the Trinity and Brazos while he was receiver, and this trend was continued after the reorganization. "In 1931 the Burlington-Rock Island owned twenty-six locomotives, 346 freight cars, and nineteen passenger cars, and earned $64,678 in passenger revenue, $1,381,667 in freight revenue, and $43,024 in other revenue"xyz] . The two parent companies rotated their management of the BRI in 5 year intervals; the Rock Island started first and controlled the BRI until 1935. Soon after the reorganization an abandonment of the original right of way between Mexia and Cleburne began and was implemented in three stages, the first being the convert|30|mi|km|sing=on Cleburne to Hillsboro section (1932), next the convert|35|mi|km|sing=on section from Hillsboro to Hubbard (1935), and finally in 1942, the convert|23|mi|km of track from Hubbard to Mexia.

The BRI, along with their partner the CB&Q, inaugurated the first streamlined passenger train service in Texas on October 1 1936, the "Sam Houston Zephyr", running from Dallas-Fort Worth to Houston, it was actually listed as a CB&Q train. Not to be outdone, Rock Island in cooperation with the BRI inaugurated its own named streamlined passenger train in 1937, the "Texas Rocket". The Rocket was replaced in January 1945 by the "Twin Star Rocket", actually listed as a Rock Island train, running between Houston and Minneapolis-St. Paul.

A major change in the BRI landscape came in 1950 when the Rock Island partnered with the Fort Worth and Denver Railway to lease the BRI's line section from Teague to Houston which they called the Joint Texas division.

The BRI never lived up to its financial promise, finally succumbing to foreclosure in April 1964, with its assets being purchased by the owning partners, each receiving an uncontested half interest in the property. The railroad's tangible assets became part of the Fort Worth and Denver and Rock Island railroads in 1965 and the Burlington-Rock Island Railroad was no more. Rock Island went out of business on March 31, 1980, leaving the Fort Worth and Denver in sole control; it in turn merged into the Burlington Northern system on December 31, 1982.

Burlington-Rock Island Zephyrs and Rockets

*"Sam Houston Zephyr" (Dallas-Fort Worth–Houston) (with CB&Q)
*"Texas Rocket" (Dallas-Fort Worth–Houston) (counterpart to the Zephyr with Rock Island)
*"Twin Star Rocket" (Houston–Minneapolis-St. Paul) (with Rock Island)

References