Groveton, Lufkin and Northern Railway

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Groveton, Lufkin and Northern Railway
Overview
Main region(s)
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 ($137,684 in 2023) and freight earnings of $233,000 ($4.01 million in 2023).[2]

At Groveton, the GL&N interchanged with a

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.[a]

References

Notes

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

Citations

  1. ^ a b c Durrenberger 1988, p. 91.
  2. ^ a b c d 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. ^ a b c d 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. ^ a b 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

External links
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