Longhorn Railroad

Longhorn Railroad
Overview
Parent company	Central of Tennessee Railway and Navigation Company (CofTR&N)
Headquarters	Austin, Texas
Locale	Texas
Dates of operation	May 6, 1996–April 1, 2000
Predecessors	RailTex (AUNW)
Successors	Austin Area Terminal Railroad (AUAR)
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The Longhorn Railroad (reporting mark LHRR) was a class III shortline railroad that operated as a division of the Central of Tennessee Railway and Navigation Company from May 6, 1996 up until April 1, 2000.

History

Founding

The Longhorn Railroad was founded on May 6, 1996, where it would operate the former Austin and Northwestern Railroad (A&NW) lines inherited by RailTex. The LHRR would become a subsidiary of the Central of Tennessee Railway and Navigation Company (CofTR&N).

Disbanding

In March 2000, Capital Metro canceled their contract with Longhorn Railroad. The railroad ceased operations on April 1, 2000, being listed as "eliminated" in October 2000, while a new railroad was founded, the Austin Area Terminal Railroad, being launched by the Trans Global Solutions, which was a subsidiary of Econorail (ECRX).

LHRR later filed a lawsuit against Capital Metro, and won said lawsuit in December 2001.

Locomotive fleet

The railroad had owned former Juniata Terminal locomotives such as GP10 #7250 and MT4 #8625. Most of their locomotives were leased from Econorail (ECRX). In 1997, while traffic was on the rise, the railroad would purchase four locomotives from two companies, these included; former Juniata Terminal SW1500 #9275, and another three locomotives from ECRX, these included Oregon, California and Eastern (OC&E) TE53-1-4E #7601, OC&E S3-3B slug #7606 and ECRX GP9 #8.

Once the railroad went defunct, GP10 #7250, MT4 #8625 and SW1500 #9275 were returned to ECRX. One locomotive from the LHRR had to be borrowed by a tourist railroad, the Austin and Texas Central Railroad (ATCR) between Austin and Burnet.

References

↑ Extra Twenty-two Hundred South. Issue 110. 1996. Dover Printing. p. 13
1 2 Railfan & Railroad. Vol. 21. Carstens Publications. 2002. p. 39.
1 2 "History of the Austin and Northwestern Railroad Company". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
1 2 Extra Twenty-two Hundred South. Issue 120. 2000. Dover Printing. p. 18
↑ wrp_admin (2022-12-08). "Trans-Global Solutions/Econo-Rail Part 2". Diesel Era. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
↑ Extra Twenty-two Hundred South. Issue 114. 1997. Dover Printing. p. 17

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[1] Extra Twenty-two Hundred South. Issue 110. 1996. Dover Printing. p. 13

[:0-2] 1 2 Railfan & Railroad. Vol. 21. Carstens Publications. 2002. p. 39.

[:2-3] 1 2 "History of the Austin and Northwestern Railroad Company". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 2026-05-06.

[:1-4] 1 2 Extra Twenty-two Hundred South. Issue 120. 2000. Dover Printing. p. 18

[5] wrp_admin (2022-12-08). "Trans-Global Solutions/Econo-Rail Part 2". Diesel Era. Retrieved 2026-05-06.

[6] Extra Twenty-two Hundred South. Issue 114. 1997. Dover Printing. p. 17