Laredo station
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Laredo station is a former Amtrak and Missouri Pacific passenger train depot in Laredo, Texas. The station was the southern terminus of the Inter-American, the last Amtrak train to serve Laredo, which ran from 1973 to 1981.[1]
History
The
By 1910 the original building was deteriorating, with locals calling it a "barn full of bats", and the I&GN promised a modern replacement. The railroad considered making it a
The I&GN became part of the Missouri Pacific Railroad on March 1, 1956.[9] Under the Missouri Pacific, Laredo station was served by the South Texas Eagle, a section of the Texas Eagle, with direct service to San Antonio, Austin, and St. Louis.[10] Through-service on the Aztec Eagle was available to Nuevo Laredo and Mexico City, Mexico, operated by the Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México (N de M) across the Texas Mexican Railway International Bridge.[11]
Service to Mexico ended in January 1969.[12] The Texas Eagle was truncated at San Antonio on May 31, 1969, ending all passenger rail to Laredo.[10]
Amtrak
Service to Laredo station resumed on January 27, 1973, when
On October 1, 1981, Amtrak truncated the Inter-American to
Later rail service in Laredo
Passenger rail service briefly returned to Laredo from 1986 to 1989 with the
Architecture
When built, the current two-story depot building measured 345 feet (105 m) long, 75 feet (23 m), wide, and 59 feet (18 m) tall, including a central tower rising 22 feet (6.7 m) above the roof. Described as "compromised mission design", it was built with buff brick and reinforced concrete, and with a Spanish tile roof. Supported by colonnades, the roof's eaves extended far beyond the building on all sides to shelter waiting passengers.[8][17]
References
- ^ a b c "Amtrak - Laredo, TX". www.trainweb.org. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
- ^ Cuéllar, Carlos E. "Laredo, TX". www.tshaonline.org. TSHA. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- ^ "New Depot Is Needed". Laredo Weekly Times. 18 September 1910. p. 8.
- ^ "New Depot For Laredo". Laredo Weekly Times. 13 November 1910. p. 3. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- ^ "Where is Depot?". Laredo Weekly Times. 1 January 1911. p. 8.
- ^ "Depot Plans Received". Laredo Weekly Times. 5 March 1911. p. 4.
- ^ "Trip Was To Learn Situation In Mexico". The Houston Post. 2 August 1912. p. 8.
- ^ a b "Handsome New I. & G. N. Depot In Laredo". Laredo Weekly Times. 2 March 1913. p. 5.
- OCLC 15159994.
- ^ OCLC 44089438.
- ^ Official Guide of the Railways, June 1968, Missouri Pacific section
- ^ Pollard, Bill (2011). "Missouri Pacific's Texas Eagle". www.arkansasrailroadhistory.com. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- ^ Goldberg, Bruce (1981). Amtrak: The First Decade. Silver Spring, MD: Alan Books.
- New York Times. August 21, 1981. p. A17.
- ISBN 978-0-253-34705-3.
- ^ Ehrlich, Allison (27 May 2021). "#TBT: In 1980s, the Tex-Mex Express train took passengers from Corpus Christi to Laredo". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
- ^ "[International and Great Northern Railway Depot]". The Portal to Texas History. Joe A. Guerra Laredo Public Library. 15 July 1920. Retrieved 30 May 2023.