Above & Below: Ken Stavinoha provides us with these undated photos of the Milano Union Depot and Tower 23. Thanks, Ken!
A Crossing of the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway and the International - Great Northern Railroad
Above & Below: Ken Stavinoha provides us with these undated photos of the Milano Union
Depot and Tower 23. Thanks, Ken!
The town of Milano was established in 1874 by the International - Great Northern (I-GN) Railroad which was completing a rail line between Austin and Palestine. In 1881, when the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe (GC&SF) Railway was building its initial rail line from Galveston to Temple, it crossed the I-GN less than two miles east of Milano. Over time, the town gradually migrated to the rail crossing and the former town site became known as "Old Milano". Tower 23 was commissioned on 1 September 1903. We have no information on when it was retired nor what became of the structure. The crossing continues to see significant traffic on both lines, now owned by Union Pacific (ex-I-GN) and Burlington Northern Santa Fe (ex-GC&SF).
