11/07/2025
Great news!! Expansion of the Rockport Railroad Museum continues! Read on.....
Imagining the railroad route that ran from downtown Rockport out into the bay in the 1800s is becoming more visible with the latest project of the Rockport Cultural Arts District (RCAD). The District has received old rail, plates, and spikes from the Fort Sam Houston line in San Antonio, dating back to the 1870s. This donation from the Texas Transportation Museum (TTM) was facilitated by Rockport Railroad Museum advocates associated with TTM, Hugh Hemphill and Dave Cenova. Placing the tracks along the original line running from the San Antonio & Aransas Pass (SAAP) Railroad Depot is part of RCAD’s continuing initiative to expand the footprint of the Railroad Museum towards Austin Street through the Rockport Railway Park.
Numerous other volunteers and businesses were part of the delivery of the vintage railroad infrastructure. James Qualls, who works with Union Pacific, has been helping RCAD with the site preparation for the Railway Park. He and volunteer Rusty Day were at the TTM site in San Antonio, operating the forklift necessary to load the old rail into a transport truck. Lowes Aransas Pass Store Manager Martin Montez has donated railroad ties.
Bryan Bracht, with Builders' First Choice, was on site in Rockport, donating the use of the forklift and operating it to remove the rail from the truck and place it for onsite in preparation of the anticipated vintage rail cars being donated from the Gulf Coast Chapter of the National Railway Society. Bracht visited the Museum for the first time, remembering how he had unloaded the old SA&AP rail cars as a child at Bracht Lumber.
A 1979 Southern Pacific bay-window Caboose will be the first historic train car planned to be placed on the north side of the Rockport Depot Museum, thanks to many donors who will be honored with a plaque on site.
RCAD began the Rockport Railroad Museum and Railway Park initiative in 2017 with the acquisition and restoration of the landmark SAAP Depot. Interested benefactors, foundations and other entities have contributed funding, railroad artifacts, and volunteer efforts. A miniature train delights residents and tourists with drives around the amenities within the 44-blocks of the State-designated District on RCAD’s Second Saturday and other special events.
Warren Hassinger, Board President, noted, “It has been wonderful to see visitors, especially families with children, become absorbed by the romantic history of rail travel. They ring the engine bell we have installed outside the Depot or learn about how the railroad helped create small cities like Rockport with the latest technology. It has become a point of pride for locals, who are excited about our continuing efforts to make history come alive, especially with a vintage caboose, engine, and express car.”
More information about RCAD’s efforts, including how to donate or contribute to the initiative, can be found at https://rockportculturalartsdistrict.com/rockport-railway-park-press-release/.
