October 22, 2026 - By Susannah Arden Tiemyer
Guest speaker Joe Hudson takes the Timpson Area Genealogical and Heritage Society on a memorable journey through the steam, timber, and track-laying history of Shelby County.
Members and friends of the Timpson Area Genealogical and Heritage Society gathered on October 21, 2026, for a fascinating journey into East Texas history. Guest speaker Joe Hudson delivered a thorough presentation detailing how railroads shaped the growth of Timpson and surrounding communities. Steel tracks, timber sawmills, lignite coal mines, and cotton fields built local towns from the late nineteenth century into the modern era. Attendees enjoyed a vivid look back at the steam locomotives and track maintenance crews that connected Shelby County to the rest of the nation. Genealogy is the study of family histories and ancestral lineages across generations. Mr. Hudson's presentation helped many local families reconnect with their deep ancestral roots in the rail industry, while society members who missed the meeting will discover how deeply railroading runs in the veins of East Texas.
Joe Hudson, a 1978 graduate of Timpson High School, brought deep local connections and decades of professional railroading experience to the podium. Born in Carthage, Texas in 1960, he grew up in the nearby Corinth, Rose Hill, and Stockman communities before graduating from Timpson High School in 1978. Mr. Hudson warmly thanked his wife of thirty-one years, and gave credit to Brandy Harding, alongside Kathy Grigsby for helping assemble his slide presentation. His professional career began in Garrison, Texas, with the Southern Pacific Railroad, where over forty years he worked across multiple states on major rail systems, including four and a half years with Norfolk Southern. He retired in Nevada, Missouri, with the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway. Before presenting historical maps and photographs, Mr. Hudson paused to lead the audience in a heartfelt community prayer, stating, "My goal has been to take us all back in time today, and I share a great history of the Timpson area..."
The Coming of the HE&WT and the Birth of a Railroad Town
The history of Timpson began directly with the arrival of the narrow gauge Houston, East and West Texas Railway in 1885. Narrow gauge describes a railroad track where the inner edges of the rails are set thirty-six inches apart, which is narrower than standard track. The railway completed its line through Shelby County connecting Houston to Shreveport, establishing Timpson's first post office in 1885 as a settlement grew rapidly around the new rail depot. Town leaders named the settlement after Paul B. Timpson, a prominent railroad engineer who helped construct the line through East Texas. Historical records show that P.B. Timpson later organized the P.B. Timpson Civic Relief Organization, working alongside the Houston Light Guard to assist storm victims after the catastrophic 1900 Galveston hurricane.
By 1890, Timpson boasted a population of 1,200 residents, two active sawmills, a canning factory, and a weekly newspaper. By 1925, Timpson became a major lignite shipping point, sending heavy carloads of coal across the state. Lignite is a soft, brownish coal used to fuel electrical power plants and steam locomotives. The local population swelled to 2,500 people during the 1920s boom before dropping during the Great Depression, reaching 1,050 by 1968, where it has since remained relatively stable. The early narrow gauge train earned the local nickname "The Rabbit" because of its quick, hopping movement along unpaved and uneven track beds. Locals also jokingly claimed the railway initials stood for "Hell Either Way Taken" because rough tracks caused frequent derailments.
Water Stops, Track Gauges, and the Single-Day Conversion
Early train crews relied on natural water sources to refill their thirsty steam engines along the route, frequently stopping at Green's Lake near Bobo around 1905 to pump water into locomotive boilers. Regular passenger service began on August 1, 1886, connecting local citizens with major Texas trade centers. In 1886, construction crews completed the final river bridge over the Sabine River at Logansport to finish the continuous route between Houston and Shreveport. On July 29, 1894, railroad crews converted the entire line from narrow gauge to standard gauge in a single day. Standard gauge is the global track standard measuring fifty-six and a half inches between the inner rail edges. Mr. Hudson estimated that workers organized fifty-mile sections using fifty men per section to pull and reset every track spike by hand, and Timpson later named Bremond Street in honor of Paul Bremond, the first president of the railway line.
Short Line Sawmills, Hotel Lore, and the Ragley Road
As timber harvesting expanded across East Texas, short lines began branching off from the main line. The Timpson and Henderson Railway was chartered in 1901 after tracks were laid in 1900 by the Ragley Lumber Company. The short line initially ran eight miles between Timpson and the sawmill settlement of Ragley in Panola County, connecting directly with Timpson's sawmill interests. A short line is a small, independent railroad that connects rural sawmills and small towns to major freight systems. Construction crews extended the track between 1908 and 1909 through Pine Hill to Henderson, expanding the route to thirty-four miles. Known locally as the "Ragley Road," the line hauled heavy timber and provided passenger service until timber depletion caused its abandonment between 1923 and 1926.
Mr. Hudson displayed a historic 1910 photograph showing Timpson-Henderson engine number six standing in Timpson. The photograph pictured conductor George "Grandad" Branch on the far left, standing beside Al Skinner, who served as engineer, master mechanic, and troubleshooter for the short line. Fireman Hill Beasley stood directly to Mr. Skinner's right. Crewman John Nealy stood on the pilot deck, accompanied by an unidentified crewman standing in front of the pilot and Ned Booty on the far right. Pilot deck refers to the forward platform attached to the front frame of a steam locomotive. In the background stood the historic Blankenship Hotel, a major lodging spot for passenger train travelers in Timpson before its eventual demolition, while the Wiley Hotel in Garrison served as another primary lodging spot in the area.
Forest Tramways and the Tragic 1912 Waterman Wreck
Another important short line was the Texas and Gulf Railway, which connected the busy Waterman lumber mill in Western Shelby County to Panola, Harrison, and Gregg counties. Workers completed a twelve-mile extension from the Timpson mill to Waterman in 1906, eventually linking Center and Gary. The line later joined the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway system before major portions were abandoned in 1933 as motor trucks and cut-over timber eliminated the need for heavy logging lines. Mr. Hudson shared historic photographs showing mechanical cranes loading massive virgin timber logs that dwarfed the workmen standing beside them.
The presentation also covered one of the darkest days in local railroad history—the 1912 Waterman train wreck. A runaway logging tram lost its brakes while descending a steep grade at Shoat Hill near Arcadia and Waterman, accelerating down the hill until it jumped the tracks and drove massive logs into the ground like timber piles. A tram is a small industrial train used inside dense forest bottoms to haul heavy log cars. Four crew members riding the train back to Timpson after work lost their lives in the crushing wreckage. Mr. Hudson remarked, "The out-of-control train accelerated down the hill until it eventually jumped the tracks." An audience member shared research documenting the disaster, while others noted that nearby Camp Worth,(a transient logging camp), once housed perhaps as many 600 workers.
The Cotton Belt Era, Timpson's Railmen, and "Train Town USA"
Rail networks continued to expand and merge across Shelby and Panola counties over the passing decades. The Sabine Pass Railway Company was chartered on August 6, 1896, and completed twenty miles of track between Timpson and Carthage by 1898 before being purchased by the Texas and Gulf Railway in 1904. The Santa Fe main line ran from Longview through Tenaha and on south down to Beaumont, playing a vital role in shipping livestock feed, grain, and cotton. Mr. Hudson recalled childhood memories of staying at his grandfather's place, where he faintly heard Timpson train whistles while clearly hearing Santa Fe engines rolling between Tenaha and Gary.
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company acquired control of the Houston, East and West Texas line in October 1899, later purchasing the St. Louis Southwestern Railway, known as the Cotton Belt Railroad, in 1932. The Cotton Belt connected Tyler, Dallas, Arkansas, and St. Louis, linking directly into "The Rabbit" line at Shreveport. Passenger service along these routes peaked during World War II before ending permanently in 1954 as diesel-electric engines replaced steam locomotives. Union Pacific purchased Southern Pacific in 1997. In August 2013, Union Pacific officially added Timpson to its Train Town USA Registry to celebrate the town's enduring railroad legacy.
Over thirty local men from Timpson and Garrison built lifelong careers with the Southern Pacific Railroad. Mr. Hudson fondly dubbed Timpson "the preparatory school of railroading" because so many local classmates hired on together, remarking, "This could have easily been called the preparatory school of railroading here at Timpson." Mr. Hudson listed local railroaders, including Dennis Lilly, Danny Lilly, David Lilly, Danny Pate, Timmy Pate, Charles Mackey, Ronald Mackey, Johnny Richardson, Randy Moore, Eddie Stokes, Richard Stokes, Stephen Amos, Stanley Amos, Tim Amos, Terry Amos, Wendell Scott, Jerry Hammers, Robert Bell, Rudy Talent, William Hard, Robert Hard, Gary Allen, R.S. Allen, Glenn Barry, Bob Bass, Glenn Bass, Jerry Stamper, and Stephen Rose. He gave special recognition to Buddy Foshee of Logansport, who served as a trusted mentor to young section workers.
Hazardous Rails, Track Maintenance, and Close Calls
Track maintenance required backbreaking physical labor in the early days of railroading. Early section crews relied on shovels, claw bars, jacks, and push carts to repair track beds, and Mr. Hudson recalled an exhausting siding extension project at Appleby where hard labor caused his weight to drop from 235 pounds to 185 pounds in one summer. As rail technology advanced, automated machines replaced hand tools, thankfully.
Modern rail systems incorporate advanced computer electronics and continuous rail steel. Ribbon rail, also called continuously welded rail, consists of long steel strips welded together to eliminate bumpy rail joints along main lines utilizing heavy rail weighing 136 to 141 pounds per yard. Positive Train Control, known as PTC, is a computerized satellite navigation safety system that automatically monitors train movements and stops locomotives if a track hazard or speed violation occurs. A caboose is a crew car attached to the rear of a freight train where brakemen monitored train safety, though railroads eventually phased out cabooses in favor of electronic End-of-Train devices, nicknamed FRED. Mr. Hudson reflected, "It was safer being out there on the track than it was when we used to throw the motor car off..."
Mr. Hudson kept the audience spellbound with dramatic personal stories from his decades on the rails. On September 6, 1979, shortly after Mr. Hudson hired on, a terrifying derailment occurred at Paxton when a chemical tank car derailed and exploded violently. The blast flattened the tank structure and hurled wheel trucks a quarter-mile away while massive flames roared across the yard, rattling house windows miles away in Nacogdoches. Mr. Hudson also recalled a 1974 chemical car explosion at Englewood Yard in Houston.
Working on track maintenance presented daily physical dangers from weather and oncoming trains. Mr. Hudson described riding motorcars under track operator Buster Raspberry, who knew every curve and schedule on the line, noting that crews occasionally had only minutes to lift heavy motorcars off the rails before fast freight trains thundered past. Around Thanksgiving in 1980, an unseasonal snowstorm hit East Texas while crews were switching tracks at Garrison, prompting workers to burn discarded wooden ties to stay warm. During another severe storm, fifteen inches of overnight rain caused a massive track washout under Wonders Creek east of Garrison, where crews worked in freezing mud to build wooden cribbing and unload ballast rock.
Mr. Hudson shared a close call at Pitts Hill when a fast freight approached, and the section crew barely cleared the track before the locomotive struck a comealong clamp left attached to the rail. The presentation concluded with photos of Union Pacific's famous "Big Boy" steam locomotive (No. 4014), and a video of Union Pacific's "Living Legend," No. 844 visiting Timpson on Thursday, October 25, 2012, when local schools transported students on buses to view the colossal steam engine. Mr. Hudson stated, "Every kid needed to see that if they could."
Audience Memories, Local Lore, and Historical Preservation
The presentation sparked rich conversation among the 30 plus audience members. Attendees discussed the famous local cadence call "Tenaha, Timpson, Bobo, and Blair," popularized by World War I soldiers and celebrated in song by Panola County native Tex Ritter, while recalling seeing the slogan painted on Bud Essery’s store window in Timpson. Intermodal shipping (freight movement using standardized containers) is today the primary focus of modern rail transport for major shippers like Walmart and J.B. Hunt.
Participants shared memories of historic mail delivery along East Texas lines, noting how express trains snagged outgoing mail bags from trackside hanging hooks without stopping. In remote areas like the Angelina River bottom near Lufkin, small automobile-like railcars ran along the tracks daily to deliver mail. Audience members also discussed the Texas State Railroad excursion line between Rusk and Palestine, which was originally built by prison labor in the early 1900s to haul iron ore to foundry blast furnaces at Rusk.
While Timpson retains only a single active rail line today, local organizations work hard to preserve regional railroad heritage. Mr. Hudson encouraged history enthusiasts to explore regional exhibits at the Depot Museum in Henderson, the Texas Forestry Museum in Lufkin, and the Nacogdoches Depot Railroad Museum. Retired railroaders gather twice yearly for a reunion luncheon at the Golden Corral in Lufkin, and historical videos of the "Big Boy" steam locomotive visiting Timpson remain available for public viewing on YouTube.
Joe Hudson closed his presentation to warm applause from society members, expressing heartfelt gratitude for the opportunity to return home and share stories with old friends. He stated, "I hope y'all learned something. I hope it wasn't boring... I found it to be very interesting, and I want to continue doing it." The presentation provided members with a deeper appreciation for the iron rails that built Timpson. Readers interested in exploring family roots or local history can access archived records through the Timpson Area Genealogical and Heritage Society.
The Timpson Area Genealogical and Heritage Society (TAGHS) meets at 2PM on the third Wednesday of each month in the meeting room of the Timpson Public Library, located on the corner of Austin and Bremond Streets in Timpson, Texas. The public is always welcome.
