Hudspeth County Railroad Depot Museum - Sierra Blanca, TX - Railroad Museums on Waymarking.com

County of museum: Hudspeth County
Location of museum: 241 W. El Paso St., Sierra Blanca
Phone: 915-986-2407

88 miles east of El Paso, the museum is open only on Wednesday 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.

"Great achievement in American history. Victory for statesmen, including Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun, who early as 1845 had supported in the United States Congress the idea of a transcontinental railroad. This was effected in 1869, but a need remained-- as advocated in the Congress-- for a southern route. In 1869 the Southern Pacific began constructing such a line eastward from the west coast. In 1871 the Texas & Pacific began building a line, under a special Act of Congress, from east Texas to southern California.
They ran a dramatic race which reached its climax as construction crews for the two roads neared this site. Southern Pacific reached Sierra Blanca on Nov. 25, 1881-- while crews of the T. & P. were 10 miles to the east of here.
On Nov. 26, 1881, an agreement was reached by Jay Gould, for the Texas & Pacific, and Collis P. Huntington, for the Southern Pacific, whereby in Sierra Blanca the roads would "...approach,...meet,...and...form one continuous line to the Pacific Ocean...."
The lines were joined here on Dec. 15, 1881, and on Dec. 16 transcontinental service was inaugurated."
~ Texas Historical Commission (1968)

"If you know Sierra Blanca only from headlines announcing that some famous musician—Willie Nelson or Snoop Dogg or Fiona Apple or Nelly—has been stopped at the nearby Border Patrol checkpoint and popped for the drugs stashed on their tour bus, you might be disappointed the first time you pass through. The infamous checkpoint is 88 miles east of El Paso on Interstate 10, and you’ll encounter it after driving through a stretch of desert bereft of anything more interesting than an occasional low mountain, patch of sun-baked grass, or water tower commemorating the decades-old accomplishments of a six-man high-school football team. As you approach, you’ll be funneled into one of two lanes—cars on the left, trucks and buses on the right—and then into the checkpoint itself, marked by a metal roof spanning several lanes of interstate. If you’re like me—white, adult, clean-shaven and short-haired—then your danger-courting celebrity-bust fantasies are unlikely to bear fruit. It’s more likely that your encounter will last seconds.
“You a U.S. citizen?”
“Yes, sir.”
Then, with a wave of the hand, you’re free to go.

"One place that’s still open is the Hudspeth County Railroad Depot Museum, a big yellow building that opens its doors for a few hours one day a week. The museum celebrates the juncture of the Southern Pacific and Texas Pacific rail lines, which met at this location in 1881, leading to the town’s founding. There’s a red Southern Pacific boxcar parked out front." ~ Texas Postcards