Henderson Overton Branch Railroad summary
The Henderson Overton Branch Railroad (HOB) is a Class III short line railroad that operates in east Texas. The contracted Blacklands Railroad provides the operation for the line. As part of the former International & Great Northern Railroad Company, 14 miles of standard-gauge track connects the railroad’s namesake towns of Henderson and Overton.
History
The Henderson and Overton Branch Railroad Company was chartered on April 29, 1874, to construct a rail line from a connection with the International & Great Northern Railroad at Overton to Henderson. The line opened on May 7, 1877, later being acquired by the International & Great Northern on September 27, 1880. All the Henderson Overton Branch’s predecessors experienced various corporate changes until eventually becoming part of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, later the Union Pacific Railroad.
Union Pacific announced its plans to abandon the branch line in 2008, resulting in the Rusk County Rural Rail District being formed with an attempt to acquire it for continual service. The RCRRD partnered with the Henderson Economic Development Corporation and the Henderson city council on acquisition proposals and funding. The offer from the parties was accepted by the UP in October 2009, and operations resumed a year later under contract with the Blacklands Railroad.
Operations
The Henderson Overton Branch serves multiple customers hauling lumber, asphalt, aggregates, and chemicals. The railroad provides a unique location for railcar storage in chemicals and resins as it’s close to the Gulf of Mexico yet out of the hurricane zone. The parent Blacklands Railroad diversified into the transloading business in 2014 by forming the subsidiary Black Gold Terminals. A transload terminal on the HOB is in Henderson to handle lumber, steel, chemicals, sand, and cement.
The Henderson Overton Branch relies on the Blacklands Railroad’s roster of secondhand EMD diesel locomotives that are either owned by the parent railroad or leased. The motive power uses Blackland’s locomotive shop in Longview for repairs and maintenance. Contract work at the facility is also provided under Blacklands Locomotive Services
Interchange is made with the Union Pacific in Overton.
Read more about the Henderson Overton Branch Railroad in Trains’ June 2014 issue.
