Historic Laredo

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Right: The familiar green and orange
Texas-Mexican Railway engines have
been part of the commerce of South
Texas for over a decade.
COURTESY OF ARTURO DOMINGUEZ
Below: The Texas-Mexican train
depot at Bruni.
COURTESY OF ARTURO DOMINGUEZ
The completion of the 162 miles from Corpus
Christi to Laredo was celebrated with an inaugural
excursion to Laredo, reportedly a raucous and
spirited ride in the company of railroad tycoons,
lawyers, scientists, bishops, and musicians.
In 1882, an additional five miles of track
were constructed to the mining area above
Laredo. Those tracks were abandoned in 1885.
A month after the Texas Mexican Railway
Company arrived in Laredo, Gould’s IGN
arrived. Another of Uriah Lott’s railroads, the
San Antonio-Aransas Pass Railroad, crossed
tracks with the Tex Mex at Alice. The St.
Louis, Brownsville, and Mexico, later the
Missouri-Pacific, reached the Tex Mex at
Robstown in 1904.
The Mexican National Railways built its
machine shops in Laredo, employing 200
mechanics. By 1889, the railroad could run a
train from Canada to Mexico City. Also in 1889,
the offices of the Texas Mexican Railway were
moved from Corpus Christi to Laredo.
In 1895, the Tex Mex’s iron rails were
replaced with steel and its tracks converted to
standard gauge. The switch was made July 17,
1902. In 1906, the line switched from burning
mesquite logs to coal, and in 1920 to oil burning
engines.
The growth of the railroad and the cargo it
carried mirrored the growth and history of South
Texas and Laredo. Agricultural and ranching
products—including wool, cattle, and produce—were
the primary cargo carried by rail
from the turn of the century until the 1940s.
Hebbronville was one of the largest cattle loading
centers in the country, shipping tallow, hides,
beef, and cattle on the hoof. The Tex Mex was
34 ✦ HISTORIC LAREDO