A journey of 2,350 miles begins with a single stop at a railroad museum. We are off on an indirect route to Puyallup, Washington with stops along the way suggested by the Roadtrippers app. (For all the apps to use in trip preparation see There’s an App for That… and a Website… and Hardware.)
Ennis, Texas was once a major railroad hub. The Ennis Railroad Museum provides a glimpse into the past. Established in 1872, Ennis was named for a railroad official. In 1872 the line used wood-burning locomotives that had to stop every 10 miles for wood and water. The line ran from Dallas (population 2,000) to Houston (population 9,000) in 12 to 15 hours.
Fun trivia fact: railroads forced the definition of the four time zones across the continental USA in 1883. Before that there were over 20 time zones, 6 in Chicago alone.
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- Stationmaster’s office.
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- Stationmaster’s office.
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- A model shows the extent of the maintenance facility, now gone.
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- Caboose. It once provided observation for potential problems. Now replaced by automation.
