Interurban Interchanges - Texas Electric Railway - Interchange With Frisco In Sherman, TX - Inquiry

I believe I improperly posted a question on another thread for which I apologize.

Sherman, Texas, was a typical railroad town that hosted several railroads and an interurban, the Texas Electric Railway.

Most "steam" railroads did not have a favorable relationship with the interurban lines that operated in their territory.

Did the Frisco interchange freight with any of the interurban lines that operated in their common territory?

If so, which lines and which locations were effected?

Item: The TE had an agreement with The Katy in Dallas to handle their through freight traffic since the "steam" railroad freight cars were not permitted on Dallas streets where the TE operated their interurban passenger trains along with the Dallas street car line.

Were there any similar operations on the Frisco?

Joe Toth

 

The Frisco interchanged freight at Dodson, MO Clinton Subdivision, with the Kansas City Public Service Company's Country Club Line (Route 56), which was under wire until 1957.

The Frisco ETT's noted clearance warnings for the overhead trolley wire.

 

Maps indicate that the Texas Electric right of way ran next to the Frisco in Sherman.

Wonder if there was any transfer of freight between the TE and other area railroads?

Joe Toth

 

According to the 1901 Original Railway Equipment Registry (ORER), the only two junction points in Texas for the Texas Electric Railway were with the Texas & Pacific (T&P) and the Texas Midland (TM) in Paris, TX.

There is no mention of the Texas Electric Railway in either the 1901 or the 1908 ORER as a separate entity. Likewise, under the major roads that ran through Dallas/Ft. Worth, there is no mention of any junction. This to include the MKT, T&P, TM, KCS, and a host of others.

I would assume that since you know that the MKT had interchange, then it is probably safe to say that the Frisco got their cars in the system through that method and not direct.

 

I am thinking that the freight traffic on the TE materialized in the 1920s forward.

I don't have any of the required material to search and find but maybe other members do?

Another interurban line in North Texas ran over the Katy's Denton Branch from Dallas to Denton in the 1920s. It was the Texas Interurban Railway and strung wire over the Katy's track!

Thus in Carrollton the wire had to clear the crossing of the Frisco and Cotton Belt as well! The depot was operated by the Cotton Belt and also served as an agency for the Frisco and Katy as well. Tower 77 controlled the interlocking between the railroads and interurban traffic.

In 2012 all three tracks are still there and DART now runs over the former Katy track as well in Carrollton. The depot even remains! Some things never seem to completely go away other than three great railroads and a long forgotten interurban line are no longer with us.

Joe Toth