The Funnel at Dickens Pass

Picture a Santa Fe main line from horizon to horizon without curve, cut, or fill to impede its passage through golden fields of wheat. Picture a Santa Fe main line winding up a cliff face in helper territory. Picture a Santa Fe main line dwarfed by cactus-studded, red-stained desert mesas. Picture a Santa Fe main line passing through rolling cotton and peanut fields on its way to the Gulf. Picture a Santa Fe main line shared in ownership and operation with another Class One with trackage rights allowed to one, maybe even two other railroads.

Probably several model layouts contain such a variety, but the prototype never had this mix compressed into three hundred miles, did it? No, but it came close. Early in this century, the Santa Fe spent five years preparing to build such a line in Texas. Matters had progressed to the point that right of way had been acquired, but the project was canceled. But for the empirical plans of the Burlington and the greed of local promoters -- and the availability of another route -- the line would have been built.

It was in the Summer of 1904 that Santa Fe surveyor J. V. Key came to the Caprock Escarpment. Behind his heels was the elevated plain of the Llano Estacado, extending westward several hundred miles. Eastward before his toes, and several hundred feet below, lay Grapevine Creek, a tributary of the Tongue River. To the southeast behind a large mesa was the little village of Dickens. Key had found where he needed to be.

Key's assigned task was to find a possible connection between the Santa Fe's line to the Pacific and the company's Gulf lines. The principal topographic obstacle was the Caprock, which separated the Llano Estacado from the lower land to the east and south. The cliff face at the head of Grapevine Creek was thought to be the only place where the escarpment could be descended with a reasonable grade line.

The proposed route left the Santa Fe at Texico, New Mexico, and passed through Plainview and Floydada to reach the Caprock. At the cliffs, which ran east-west at that point, the route began a descent to the east, then turned southwards across the high saddle that connected the Caprock with MacKenzie Peak. Crossing the saddle brought the line to the head of Duck Creek. The miles-wide, bluff-hemmed valley was followed past Dickens into more open country. The line continued southeastward via Anson to a Texas and Pacific Railroad crossing at Abilene before following Pecan Bayou to Brownwood on the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe. The ruling grade was 0.6% except for ten miles of 1.25% on the Caprock.

No other railroad was encountered except for the east-west line of the T&P. The Texas Central Railroad was the nearest. It had built into Stamford from Waco in 1900. Far to the northeast was the Wichita Falls-Seymour line of the Wichita Valley Railway, which, along with the Fort Worth and Denver city Railway, was owned by the Colorado and Southern Railway System.

Santa Fe activity below the Caprock soon drew the notice of the Swenson family, a major dynasty in Texas since the days of the Republic. The Swensons wrote to the railroad advocating a change of line through Swenson properties to the northeast of Key's line. The Santa Fe was willing to examine any route legitimately suggested by citizens, if only to keep good locating engineers on the payroll. During the final weeks of 1904, F. W. Mudge traveled from Dickens to Haskell, then southwards through Stamford to Anson. The route was long. The Swensons were informed that their proposal went too far out of the way to serve as the railroad's through line.

By Spring 1905, another alternative was being considered. This was to break away from Key's line in southern Stonewall County and to head east to Stamford and the Texas Central Railroad. The Santa Fe could purchase the Texas Central and use it to reach the Gulf lines. C. F. W. Felt's preliminary examination of the Texas Central revealed that it was earning fairly well, but it had heavy grades that would be difficult to reduce. Also, the line passed through "rough, rocky, and poor" land that would never be greatly productive. Nevertheless, the Santa Fe seemed fascinated by the Texas Central Examinations for possible purchase continued for years.

Also in the Spring of 1905, F. Meredith Jones explored a proposed route from Dickens to the GC&SF at Weatherford. This line possessed the advantages of easy construction and of being a short connection between the Llano Estacado and Dallas/Fort Worth. However, it was too roundabout for a through line to the Gulf. The best line for that goal remained Key's Brownwood Cutoff. This route was formalized September 15, 1905, when a charter was obtained for the Gulf, Santa Fe and Northwestern Railway.

Such activity could not long escape the notice of the Colorado and Southern. By the time the GSF&NW was legally created, C&S officials and investors Grenville Dodge, Morgan Jones (no relation), and Frank Trumbull were preparing to extend the Wichita Valley Railway southwards. The corporate creature to extend the WV Railway to Stamford was the WV Railroad. The new line would pass through several Swenson properties, but the dynasty wanted the rails to extend beyond Stamford. The Swensons organized the Abilene and Northern Railway, hired Morgan Jones to build it, and arranged for the WV to operate it. Construction of the combined lines began in late Fall of 1905.

While construction continued through 1906, Trumbull, Dodge, and Morgan Jones brainstormed another project. This was a railroad west from the WV to Texico that would "be useful jointly with the Santa Fe in connecting up their Texico line with their G.C.&S.F. line." The Texas Central was also to be offered trackage rights onto the Llano Estacado. Adding to the brewing stew, in September the Swensons bought the Spur Ranch near Dickens. Soon after completion of the WV into Abilene January 1, 1907, the C&S and the Swensons jointly financed secret surveys of the westward route. The pass above Dickens was chosen as the "best strategic" path to the plains and Trumbull ordered that it be "secured" by purchase and by "doing some grading to hold the situation."

Meanwhile, the Santa Fe had been pursuing its own plans and finding the quarry difficult. Dickens was located near the southeastern corner of a large mesa at the western edge of a wildly broken area known as the Crotan Breaks. For geographic reasons, the Santa Fe could get its line within a mile of Dickens but no closer. Another line could pass more than three miles away, but the most desirable line was just inside three miles. That was the problem. By Texas law, a railroad that passed within three miles of a county seat had to pass through the town -- unless two-thirds of the citizens voted not to require enforcement.

The Santa Fe made an offer: The railroad would build a new town of Dickens as a division point at the foot of the pusher grade and move the citizens of the old town to the new at no cost. The only thing necessary was for the citizens to allow construction of the best line. Otherwise, the rails would pass outside the three mile limit and Dickens would get nothing. Surprisingly, the people put up a fight for the original town.

Farther south the Santa Fe survey ran parallel to the WV between Anson and Abilene. To avoid this, Harry McGee ran a line from Dickens southward through Roby to a T&P crossing at Merkle. However, the Santa Fe decided to follow its original survey because Abilene was "too good a town to leave out."

The "good town," however, was more troublesome than Dickens. The T&P refused to allow a grade crossing there, forcing the construction of an expensive overhead crossing. The Santa Fe wanted a line in the west part of town, citizens wanted it in the east. Citizens also refused to sign standard right of way contracts and insisted on various guarantees and provisos. Several contracts were negotiated with city fathers who would then refuse to sign. Santa Fe officials would come to Abilene to do business and leave frustrated and angry. Legend claims that local politicos refused to believe that F. Meredith Jones did in fact work for the Santa Fe and sent him packing.

Farther south, the line ran alongside Pecan Bayou, which ran east of Brownwood. To use the existing Brownwood terminal would require crossing the stream and constructing a loop around the north and west sides of town. F. Meredith Jones examined another alternative route that bypassed Brownwood to connect with the GC&SF at Ricker. Aside from construction difficulties, this line was rejected because of the danger of "the eternal antagonism of a thriving and prosperous town, where competition already exists." Jones also ran a line from Abilene direct to Temple, splitting the area between the Texas Central and the GC&SF. Among the reasons for rejecting this line was the curious and unexplained statement that the people along the line were "typical Texans." Chief engineer James Dun passed Jones' comment along to president E. P. Ripley without elaboration.

An Abilene-Coleman line via Buffalo Gap was proposed, but it would require grade reductions on the GC&SF's Coleman-Brownwood line. Before much could be done, however, the entire project was halted in September of 1906. President Ripley had tired of the demands being made and wanted the hotheads along the proposed line to cool for awhile. Also, he wanted to purchase the Texas Central, but his legal experts had said "that if we should first build from Brownwood to Abilene we could not subsequently acquire the Texas Central, whereas if we take the Texas Central first we could later build the Brownwood line ... Therefore we must delay any action and avoid committing ourselves in any way until after the Texas Central question has been settled." Ripley laid down some excuses for his men to state publicly concerning why "it has been thought best to abandon the project for the present." The railroad quietly continued acquiring land along the route.

James Dun had retired a couple of weeks earlier, though he remained as advisor. When William B. Storey Jr., Dun's successor, sat at his new desk, he found on it letters from O. L. Slaton, C. W. Post, and others about a possible route via Garza County. F. Meredith Jones spent the winter of 1906-7 investigating the route with good results.

Also, the C-B Livestock Company was talking up a route in Crosby County. Jones found it impractical -- as did surveyors for the Burlington and the Frisco -- but he did find a line farther north in Crawfish Canyon.

Both the Garza and Crosby routes climbed the Caprock with 0.6% grades as opposed to the 1.25% line at Dickens. Jones also thought highly of a light Caprock grade that J. V. Key had found in Borden County. The pass at Dickens was not the only possible road down the Caprock after all, and it was not the best. Yet the Santa Fe remained committed to the pass above Dickens.

Troubles on Wall Street put a temporary hold on matters except for the completion of Santa Fe's Canyon-Plainview line in 1907.

Action came quickly after the Burlington purchased the C&S December 19, 1908. The Stamford and Northwestern Railway was chartered January 11, 1909, and contracts were signed for construction between Stamford and Plainview. S&NW rails would duplicate much of the Santa Fe survey, but with a major change on the Caprock: By adding curvature and length, the grade had been reduced to 1%.

An offer was made to the Santa Fe to share this track. Exact details are not known, but Santa Fe and C&S would jointly own and operate the S&NW. Connection with the Texas Central could be had at Stamford, and possibly trackage rights to Abilene could be had over the WV. And just maybe trackage rights could be arranged over the Abilene and Southern Railway, which C&S investor Morgan Jones was building to the GC&SF at Ballinger.

Despite the fact that the Texas Central had constructed its line southwestward to Rotan in 1907, the C&S was still interested in granting that company trackage rights over the S&NW. Also, the Rock Island was planning a line from near Fort Worth to the Llano Estacado. This project was projected to intersect the WV near Stamford, and the C&S had an agreement for trackage rights. Obviously, the C&S planned to funnel several railroads through the pass above Dickens.

The Santa Fe's reaction to the Burlington plan was to stockpile construction material at Plainview and to station a man in the area with instructions to occupy the pass if the S&NW made a serious move towards it. A Raton Pass-like standoff was brewing, with the Santa Fe defending the fortress-like wall of the Caprock against the assault of several railroads in one.

However, the bubbling stew never came to a boil. The Santa Fe canceled plans to build down the pass at Dickens, and in June announced its intent to build via Garza County. This gave the Santa Fe a shorter route with no grades over 0.6% and no helper grades. The citizens were less troublesome and competing railroads were fewer. Losing at Dickens was actually a victory.

But the Santa Fe did lay some track southeastward from Plainview. Irate citizens of Floydada formed the Llano Estacado Railway on February 4, 1909. The plan was to connect Plainview and Floydada immediately and to eventually connect the S&NW with Hereford. Frank Trumbull was said to be backing the company. The Santa Fe purchased the Llano Estacado Railway and had trains into Floydada by March of 1910. No further destinations were attained.

Meanwhile, the Burlington began building the Stamford and Northwestern early in 1909 and crossed the newly-built, north-south line of the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway at Sagerton. Operations extended to the new town of Spur, in the middle of the Swenson pasture, by October 25, 1909. This location a few miles south of Dickens was a strategic point. From there, rails could either go north to Dickens, or west into Crosby County and to the plains via Crawfish Canyon.

Repeated attempts to build beyond Spur failed, as did several attempts to interest the Santa Fe, the Texas Central (part of the Katy after 1910), or the Rock Island in using the line. A Frisco affiliate, the Quanah, Acme and Pacific Railway, considered using the S&NW to reach the Llano Estacado and El Paso, but instead chose another route in the north.

After two decades, the Burlington realized that if no other railroad would share the line, it was of no use as a gateway to the plains. A more practical and much shorter line could be had from the Fort Worth and Denver City main line at Estelline. That route used Quitaque Canyon before spider-webbing over the plains. (The line has recently been abandoned, but the path up the Caprock, including the last railroad tunnel used in the state, is now a hiking and bridle trail.)

With the Quanah and the Burlington coming up the Caprock, the Santa Fe planned several additions to its lines. One of these was a fifteen mile extension of the Floydada branch along the old survey. Obviously, this was a nuisance proposal that was entirely too close to the QA&P line, but there may have been more subtle reasoning involved. This line would have placed the Santa Fe at the top of the pass. Possibly it was a hint to the Burlington that the Santa Fe might cooperate in the Dickens line if the Burlington would drop its Quitaque plans. If so, it was too late. The Burlington and Quanah lines opened in 1928, and the Santa Fe never built beyond Floydada. The plan to funnel several railroads to the plains at Dickens was dead.

In a fumbling, somewhat haunted manner, the Santa Fe proposed to let the QA&P use the Floydada-Plainview line in exchange for Santa Fe's use of QA&P's line down the Caprock to McBain. From there the Santa Fe planned to build to Dallas/Fort Worth. However, the Great Depression put a halt to further railroad building.

In the end, no one used the pass above Dickens.

What If?

Without the Santa Fe dominance that actually occurred, T&P feeders such as the West Texas and Northern Railway and the Swenson-backed Roscoe, Snyder and Pacific Railway might have extended farther north than they did. Also, the Texas Central (Katy) might have followed up on surveys west of Rotan.

The C-B Livestock Co. built a railroad to serve Crosby County, and there is no reason to doubt that it would have done so even if the Dickens line had been used. Also, multimillionaire C. W. Post flirted with several railroad projects for Garza County, and was capable of building one. The most likely project was an east-west line connecting with the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient, in which he had invested.

As to what lines would have spread over the plains from the funnel, no information has surfaced.

Modeling

Modeling possibilities are wide open because this line was never built. Several all-Santa Fe surveys radiated in different directions from Dickens. All involved river crossings, semi-arid conditions, and varied topography.

The joint line is also wide open, maybe more so. The S&NW can be modeled as it was, but it was a branch line. A mainline would have been more substantially built. As this would have been a Santa Fe main line, Santa Fe's rule book and sign standards probably would have been followed. However, C&S standards or Burlington's, which vastly differed from each other, would also have been appropriate. If the Texas Central had been purchased, who-knows-what kind of standards could have added to the mix.

In the Twenties, C&S was making signposts from old boiler flues set in concrete. New depots, even small ones, were of brick. Bunkhouses were of red tile. "Wine goblet" Horton water tanks were common. Later, standard Burlington signs replaced the C&S signs. Burlington signs were of concrete with recessed lettering painted black.

The important passenger train would have been the Santa Fe's Gulf-Pacific connection. Secondary service might have been a Burlington doodlebug, but if other companies had participated in the funnel, trains could have converged from Waco, Dallas, or St Louis.

The Llano Estacado is a vast plain, larger than Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Rhode Island combined. To the eye it is absolutely flat, but it has a slight roll like a calm ocean. Naturally treeless, it looks endless. One can stand a few feet from its edge and not be aware of an ending, because the surrounding land is lower and the drop in altitude is abrupt. Modern agriculture produces wheat, sorghum, and cotton here, among other crops. Floydada is noted for pumpkins.

The Caprock Escarpment at Dickens resembles the Caprock in Garza County, where the constructed line still runs. The ground seems redder, though, much like Curtis Hill in Oklahoma, which it also resembles. In fact, the Caprock resembles Glorieta Mesa in New Mexico, and other Santa Fe locations. Where erosion is not active, the ground is covered with grass and scrub cedar. Prickly pear cactus is common, along with small yucca and cholla. This is cattle country.

Near the proposed line southeast of Dickens is the Crotan Breaks, which a Santa Fe surveyor described as a "Grand Canyon in miniature." There is no central gorge, but a large area is densely covered by drainage. The waterways are dry until it rains. Then the area is cut by a thousand raging torrents. The resulting badlands are picturesque and remote.

Farther southeast is rolling farm land, some of it blackland. Here and there isolated mesas remain from the era when the Llano Estacado extended much further to the east.

Two forks of the Brazos River were slated to be crossed with long plate-deck bridges. The river looks like a dry sand flat several hundred feet across. After a rain, the red torrent is bank to bank and sometimes beyond that.

Soon, the proposed line reached a greener country, humid and forested, occasionally hilly. Very much like the rural South.

With the varied topography, multiple routes, and possible joint operation, this proposed Santa Fe line offers much to a modeler.