On Friday, June 10, 2006, the city of Rockdale, Texas celebrated the 100th anniversary of the IGN depot there, along with school reunions. Below are some photos of  the event including the restored Rockdale depot inside and out, a caboose and a former Missouri Pacific dining car with many fixtures and the kitchen still as they were when the MoPac ceased running it in the 1960s. According to the newspaper article posted in the Rockdale Reporter, this dining car was brought to Rockdale in June 2005 from the Callahan Ranch near Laredo, Texas where it was used in the 1970s to fix meals for truck drivers and deer hunters.
   The dining car was delivered to the Missouri Pacific in 1946 and it ran mostly on the Colorado Eagle until 1966 when the train was discontinued. However, it may have run on other MoPac trains back then as well (maybe even the Valley Eagle, which I remember riding in the early 1960s).  The MoPac Buzzsaw is still visible on the side with Number 230 under it. Some of the faded blue paint is also visible. A number board on the left side reads either 36 or 86, I'm not sure. No restoration work was done on this car as of this writing but they plan to restore it to original condition.
   On my way out of town on Hwy 79, I spotted an old freight house now being used as a salon on Texas Street.  Mr. Vester L. Crocker of Crocker's Reclamation and Maintenance was there and showed me some pictures (also on this webpage) of the depot and grounds in the 1800s when it was the S.A. & A.P. Railway (San Antonio & Aransas Pass Railway), which used to run from Rockdale northward.
   There's also a couple of UP train shots on this site, one passing the Rockdale depot.  (All photos by Ken Ziegenbein - if you use these anywhere else, let me know by emailing me at  the link below).



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http://www.trainweather.com/rockdaletexas061006-broadband.html


LEFT-Between Milano and Rockdale heading west toward Rockdale on Highway 79 near milepost 102, 8:58 a.m. Friday June 10, 2006. RIGHT-UP 8062.


LEFT-SP 6271. RIGHT-The restored IGN depot in Rockdale.







Ken Stavinoha at the depot, sent in by himself.  He was wearing an IGN station agent cap.










1940s Missouri Pacific dining car brought here from Laredo in 2005. Below are the details of the car as printed in the local newspaper in 2005.  Remember you can click any photo on this site to enlarge it.




RIGHT-The Mopac Buzzsaw is still visible along with the number 230.  You can also see remnants of peeled blue MoPac paint.


RIGHT-36 or 86.


LEFT-The hallway past the kitchen.  RIGHT-The dining tables.


Lounge area?


Same picture, opened lens more on the right one for more details.


LEFT-I remember pushing similar doors on MoPac trains.  RIGHT-Looking out door.


The kitchen was used by the ranch that had this car near Laredo to prepare meals for truckers and deer hunters in the 1970s.


LEFT-Grills were active at the festival.  RIGHT-Inside the old Railway Express room.


Map of Rockdale station tracks a hundred years or more ago. (Click to enlarge any photo)










RIGHT-TFM 1423, 9:48 a.m. with a long string of loaded rock/granite cars.






Part of the former San Antonio & Aransas Pass freight house apparently was moved a few blocks south to this location along the long-abandoned right-of-way of the S.A. & A.P. Rwy on Texas Street in Rockdale, according to owner Vester L. Crocker. He showed me a few old pictures of the place. He is the owner of Crocker's Reclamation & Maintenance. The building now houses a salon on the far end.