A Crossing of the Louisiana & Arkansas Railway and the St. Louis Southwestern Railway
Pittsburg, founded in 1855, was one of the early towns established in Texas
and was originally spelled "Pittsburgh", like the city in Pennsylvania. In 1893,
to
comply with a ruling by the U.S. Board of Geographic Names, the Post Office dropped the 'h' from the town name, and it
retains that spelling today [hat tip to Don Harper for the link]. The first railroad through
Pittsburg was the East Line & Red River (EL&RR)
Railroad in 1878. After numerous ownership changes over many years, this line
became owned by the Louisiana & Arkansas (L&A) Railway. In 1939, the L&A was
acquired by Kansas City Southern (KCS) but was officially operated as a separate
subsidiary until 1992.
In 1880, the Texas & St. Louis (T&SL) Railway built from Big Sandy to
Texarkana, passing through Pittsburg and crossing the EL&RR. The T&SL had been
originally chartered as the Tyler Tap Railway and had built from Tyler to Big
Sandy in 1877. After bankruptcy and a series of ownership changes, the line
became owned by the St. Louis Southwestern Railway, commonly called the "Cotton
Belt".
Tower 195 was established sometime in the late 1940s. It was
not a manned tower, but the specific type of interlocker and its controls are
undetermined. Both lines remain in active use today. KCS still operates the L&A
line while Union Pacific is the successor to the Cotton Belt line.
Site Views, Tower 195 Crossing
Above: This Google Street View of the Tower 195 site faces north. The track
in the foreground is the northbound
Cotton Belt. The KCS crosses east/west in front of the orange building.
Below: This Google Street View looks east along the KCS tracks toward the
crossing diamond.
Tower 195 Location Map
