Longhorn and Western Railroad

The Longhorn and Western Railroad is the heritage railway of the Texas Transportation Museum in San Antonio, Texas. It is a standard-gauge demonstration railroad built and operated on museum property rather than a line connected to the national rail network. The railroad gives visitors an opportunity to experience historic railway equipment in operation while supporting the museum’s broader educational mission of explaining how transportation technology has influenced everyday life. The line comprises approximately five-eighths of a mile, or about one kilometer, of track in total. Its mainline extends roughly one-third of a mile between the eastern and western ends of the museum grounds. The compact layout is designed for museum operations and visitor rides rather than intercity or freight service. Its principal significance is therefore interpretive: it preserves operating examples of American railway technology and presents them in a setting where visitors can see locomotives, passenger equipment, cabooses, and maintenance vehicles used together. The operating collection includes several historically distinct switchers and small railway vehicles. Among the equipment identified with the railroad are a 1954 Baldwin RS-4-TC switcher built for the United States Army, a 1942 General Electric 45-ton switcher associated with the United States Air Force, the 1925 Baldwin 0-4-0T locomotive from the Comal Power Plant, a Missouri Pacific flat car, a Missouri Pacific caboose, and a Fairmont motor car formerly associated with the United States Marine Corps. These vehicles illustrate industrial, military, utility, and railroad applications rather than representing a single railroad company or locomotive design tradition. Additional equipment is preserved in static display. It includes a 1911 Baldwin 2-8-0 steam locomotive from the Moscow, Camden and San Augustine Railroad; an Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Pullman business car; a 1924 Pullman McKeever sleeper car operated by the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad; and several Union Pacific and Missouri Pacific cabooses. One Missouri Pacific caboose has been adapted as a birthday-party room, demonstrating how the museum combines preservation with visitor programming. Other railway artifacts include miscellaneous speeders and related equipment. The Longhorn and Western Railroad forms one part of the Texas Transportation Museum’s larger collection, which also includes antique automobiles, fire apparatus, tractors, horse-drawn vehicles, and model railroads in several scales. The museum was established in 1964 by rail enthusiasts seeking to preserve transportation artifacts and information connected with San Antonio. It was initially located at the Pearl Brewing Company in downtown San Antonio and used tracks of the Texas Transportation Company. In 1967, it received use of approximately forty acres in the Northeast Preserve, an area later associated with McAllister Park, north of San Antonio International Airport on Wetmore Road. The museum’s heritage railway now operates on that property. The railroad is presented as an educational and recreational attraction rather than as a commercial transportation provider. Museum events such as Easter programming, the Halloween-themed Spook-Track-Ula, and Santa’s Railroad Wonderland provide recurring contexts for train operations and family visits. The Texas Transportation Museum is a registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization, and the Longhorn and Western Railroad is best understood as a museum-operated preservation and interpretation program. Publicly available reference material does not establish a separate corporate structure, independent commercial ownership, founding date, financial data, or separately listed management for the railroad.

The Longhorn and Western Railroad is operated by the Texas Transportation Museum, a San Antonio transportation museum established in 1964. The museum’s origins lay in an effort by local rail enthusiasts to preserve a steam locomotive displayed at the Comal Power Plant. During the restoration effort, the locomotive was moved to the Pearl Brewery and fired up, producing a large amount of black soot in the surrounding area. Although the episode was memorable, the preservation initiative helped form the basis of the museum. The museum originally operated at the Pearl Brewing Company in downtown San Antonio and made use of tracks belonging to the Texas Transportation Company. In 1967, it was granted use of approximately forty acres in the Northeast Preserve, an area later associated with McAllister Park, north of San Antonio International Airport on Wetmore Road. The museum’s current property became the setting for its transportation collections and operating demonstrations. The Longhorn and Western Railroad is the museum’s standard-gauge heritage railway. It is an isolated museum railroad with no connection to the general rail system. Its total trackage is approximately five-eighths of a mile, with a mainline of about one-third of a mile running between the eastern and western portions of the property. The route and equipment are arranged for museum operation, interpretation, and visitor experience rather than scheduled public transportation or freight service. The railroad’s collection combines equipment from government, industrial, utility, and common-carrier backgrounds. Operating equipment includes a 1954 Baldwin RS-4-TC switcher built for the United States Army, a 1942 General Electric 45-ton switcher built for the United States Air Force, and a 1925 Baldwin 0-4-0T locomotive that came from the Comal Power Plant. The operating collection also includes a Missouri Pacific flat car, Missouri Pacific caboose, and a Fairmont motor car associated with the United States Marine Corps. Together, these artifacts show how compact locomotives and railway vehicles served military installations, power facilities, industrial sites, and railroad operations. The museum also preserves substantial static railway equipment. Highlights include a 1911 Baldwin 2-8-0 steam locomotive from the Moscow, Camden and San Augustine Railroad; an Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Pullman business car; a 1924 Pullman McKeever sleeper car operated by the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad; and cabooses from Union Pacific and Missouri Pacific. One Missouri Pacific caboose awaits restoration, while another has been converted into a room for birthday parties. Miscellaneous railroad speeders and related artifacts add further context to the collection. Railway preservation is integrated with the museum’s wider transportation program. TTM also displays antique cars and trucks, fire apparatus, tractors, carriages, and multiple model railroad layouts, including HO, G, N, O, and Z scales. The museum states that it operates as much of its collection as possible, allowing visitors to encounter transportation artifacts as functioning machines rather than solely as static objects. The Longhorn and Western Railroad consequently serves both as a preserved collection and as a working educational exhibit. Recurring museum programming provides additional public settings for railroad operations. Annual events include an Easter egg hunt, the Halloween event Spook-Track-Ula, and Santa’s Railroad Wonderland in December. The site can also host group activities and parties, with a remodeled caboose, outdoor facilities, and other visitor amenities available for rental. The railroad’s publicly documented identity remains closely tied to the Texas Transportation Museum; no separate founding date, independent corporate ownership, commercial route network, or separately reported executive structure is established in the available reference material.

1. 1967Museum receives land-use permission at the Northeast Preserve

   The museum was granted use of approximately forty acres in the Northeast Preserve, north of San Antonio International Airport, providing the setting for its later collections and heritage railway operations.

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2. 1964Texas Transportation Museum established

   Rail enthusiasts created the Texas Transportation Museum to preserve transportation artifacts and information related to San Antonio, including a steam locomotive associated with the Comal Power Plant.

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3. Longhorn and Western Railroad operates as a museum railway

   The museum’s standard-gauge railroad developed as an isolated heritage line of approximately five-eighths of a mile, with operating locomotives and rolling stock preserved for visitor education.

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A museum-based operating heritage railway focused on preserving and interpreting American railroad equipment for educational and family-oriented visitor experiences.

• Heritage railway ridesPassenger attraction

  The Longhorn and Western Railroad provides museum-based train operations over approximately five-eighths of a mile of standard-gauge track. The line is not connected to the general rail network and is operated as a visitor attraction and educational demonstration rather than as scheduled intercity or freight transportation.

• Operating locomotive collectionRailway preservation

  The operating collection includes a 1954 Baldwin RS-4-TC United States Army switcher, a 1942 General Electric 45-ton United States Air Force switcher, and a 1925 Baldwin 0-4-0T locomotive from the Comal Power Plant. These locomotives represent military, industrial, and utility railway use and are preserved for interpretation and museum operations.

• Historic rolling-stock displaysRailway preservation

  Preserved equipment includes Missouri Pacific flat cars and cabooses, a Fairmont motor car associated with the United States Marine Corps, a Pullman business car, a Pullman sleeper, and additional cabooses from Union Pacific and Missouri Pacific. Some items operate, while others remain static exhibits or await restoration.

• Seasonal railroad programmingMuseum events

  The railroad participates in the Texas Transportation Museum’s recurring family events, including the Easter egg hunt, the October Spook-Track-Ula Halloween program, and December’s Santa’s Railroad Wonderland. These events place the railway collection within themed educational and recreational programming.

• Easter egg hunt

  San Antonio, Texas

  An annual Easter program at the Texas Transportation Museum that uses the museum setting and transportation collections to provide family-oriented seasonal programming.

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• Spook-Track-Ula

  San Antonio, Texas

  The museum’s recurring October Halloween event, whose name and programming connect the seasonal experience with the site’s railway attractions.

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• Santa's Railroad Wonderland

  San Antonio, Texas

  A recurring December Christmas program centered on the museum’s railroad setting and family visitor experience.

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1. Texas Transportation Museum
2. Texas Transportation Museum official website