State railroad's management transition on track for Sept. 1

LUFKIN — While summer rides were a complete washout at Texas State Railroad this summer, the upcoming management transition remains on track for Sept. 1, state park officials said.

The Texas State Railroad State Park included 25 miles of track, established in 1881, connecting state parks in Rusk and Palestine. The tracks were accepted into the state park system in 1976.

In response to an ongoing funding shortage, Texas state legislators last spring approved a plan to turn the popular park over to the local rail authority which contracted with American Heritage Railways to manage the trains.

American Heritage Railways owns Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in Durango, Colo.; the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Bryson City, N.C.; and Rail Event Incorporated, which coordinates licensed special rail-related events around the country including The Polar ExpressTM Train Ride, The Great Pumpkin Patch ExpressTM, and the Little Engine That Could Rail TourTM.

As outlined in Senate Bill 1659, management of TSRR transfers from the state to the rail authority on Saturday, said TPWD regional director Ellen Buchanan.

TPWD also sent a check for $645,232 to the rail authority this week to cover the cost of repairs to the tracks, said American Heritage spokeswoman Lori Kastrop.

The native Palestine woman who remembers riding the rails as a youth says she is excited about American Heritage keeping the train on the tracks, adding that she is particularly impressed with how American Heritage had its Colorado-based trains up and running a week after the tracks were hit by a 20- to 30-foot-long landslide that included uprooted trees and boulders.

Meanwhile, the TSRR has remained derailed since a heavy rainstorm, dumping 7-plus inches of rain within two hours, flooded the tracks on July 8, causing serious damage to the section between Maydelle and Rusk. Hardest hit was an embankment supporting the tracks near County Road 2108 where a 60-foot-long by 30-foot-tall section collapsed and washed away.

Between this incident and a derailment accident that caused damage to an engine, the track has not run since that time in early July, said Texas Parks and Wildlife TSRR superintendent Robert Crossman.

As of Saturday, Crossman will no longer be superintendent of the historic rails but he will continue working on the line under American Heritage, he said.

American Heritage has met with the 63 TSRR employees and offered contracts for employment under the private company. They won't know for sure how many will accept the offer until Tuesday morning, Kastrop said.

Crossman, 47, said he has worked 15 years on the rail and would need another 10 years with the state before he would be eligible for retirement.

Some folks, he said, have applied for other park or state jobs elsewhere, and some who qualify are planning to retire.

With two years left until retirement, TPW-TSRR Operations Superintendent Mark Price said he opted to stay with the state and will soon be managing the TPWD historical site in Paris, Texas.

Anyone interested in a job maintaining the tracks should contact American Heritage, Kastrop said.

The new Web site for TSRR is www.TexasStateRR.com.