Temple, Texas was founded by the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway in 1880 as a construction camp that quickly evolved into a major railroad town. Temple became a junction of the Santa Fe's three major rail segments and this led the company to locate major yards, shops and medical facilities there. Within a couple of years of Temple's founding, the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad built through Temple as they constructed a main line to Houston from Ft. Worth. This spur crossed the Santa Fe's line in Temple and a manned interlocking tower was eventually constructed there to control this junction. In 1903, this tower was designated as Tower 24 by the Texas Railroad Commission and it remained in service for many years. The date that it was de-commissioned and removed has not yet been determined. Both rail lines remain heavily used today. The former GC&SF line is now a BNSF route between Galveston and Ft. Worth, with a major branch line extending northwest to Clovis, NM. The MKT line is now a Union Pacific route between Sealy (near Houston) and Ft. Worth.
Map by Jim King.
