Cotton Belt Depot - Corsicana, TX
Posted by: 
WalksfarTX
N 32° 05.496 W 096° 27.747
14S E 739480 N 3553408
The Corsicana Visitor Center is housed inside a beautifully restored 1895 Cottonbelt railroad freight depot.
Waymark Code: WMN2WJ
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 12/15/2014
Views: 6
The St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company (SLSW), known by its nickname of "Cotton Belt", was organized on January 15, 1891, although it had its origins in a series of short lines founded in Tyler, Texas in 1877 that connected northeastern Texas to Arkansas and southeastern Missouri.
The company gained trackage rights over Missouri Pacific Railroad to reach the St. Louis, Missouri area. The Cotton Belt operated passenger trains out of St. Louis Union Station. They also had a freight station in Downtown St. Louis. Union Pacific Railroad now operates the yard (still named "Cotton Belt Yard"), but the engine servicing facilities have been demolished.
The Southern Pacific Company gained control of the Cotton Belt system on April 14, 1932 but continued to operate it as a separate company until 1992, when the SP consolidated the Cotton Belt's operations into the parent company.
Is the station/depot currently used for railroad purposes?: No
Is the station/depot open to the public?: Yes
If the station/depot is not being used for railroad purposes, what is it currently used for?:
Visitor's Center.
What rail lines does/did the station/depot serve?: St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company (SLSW)
Station/Depot Web Site: [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions:
Please post an original picture of the station/depot taken while you were there. Please also record how you came to be at this station/depot and any interesting information you learned about it while there.