www.txrrhistory.com - Tower
35 - Dallas (Highland)
A Crossing of the Houston & Texas Central Railroad and the
Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad
When the Houston & Texas Central (H&TC) Railroad built
through Dallas in 1872, the town was just another rural community
in north Texas. By 1886, when the Missouri-Kansas-Texas ("Katy") Railroad entered Dallas
from the north under the charter of the Dallas & Greenville
Railway, Dallas was developing into a major rail and transportation
center on the banks of the Trinity River. The two lines crossed
a few miles north of downtown Dallas at a location that became
known as "Highland". Both
lines moved significant traffic through the diamond, and in 1904,
Tower 35 was established to interlock the crossing. Some years
later, Mrs. Baird's Bread Co. built a bakery southwest of the
junction, and later, the Dr. Pepper Company built its headquarters
northeast of the junction. A rail siding next to the Dr. Pepper
building was known as "Oasis".
As Dallas continued to grow, the H&TC tracks through downtown
became a safety and traffic congestion problem. In 1926, the
Dallas
Belt Line was completed to permit the Southern Pacific, successor
to the H&TC, to bypass downtown. The former north/south main line was
relegated to secondary status and then eventually abandoned. In 1927, SP
passenger trains began using the Katy tracks between Union Station and Tower 35. After World War II, the H&TC right-of-way
was used for the construction of Central Expressway, one of the
first freeways in Texas. In 1950, Tower 35 was decommissioned,
and in the early 1990s, the Katy line was taken out of service
by successor Union Pacific.
Tower 35 Track Charts (from
T&NO Archives)
These 1926 track charts show an approximate relationship between the Tower 35
junction and the Oasis siding. The crossing was at a more acute angle
than is depicted on the charts, with the Katy on a NE/SW heading and the SP
heading approximately north/south. South is to the right; east is "up".
The black square depicting Tower 35 is in the southwest quadrant of the
crossing. The track labeled "U.T.Conn" in the northwest quadrant was a
connection
for Dallas Union Terminal movements, and was used for SP passenger trains after
they began using the MK&T (Katy) tracks between Dallas Union Station
and Tower 35.
Today, the former site of Tower 35 is occupied by the Mockingbird
Station of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) system. Portions
of the former rights-of-way of both railroads are now used by
DART north and east of the station.
Modern Photos of Interlocker 35
The abandoned right-of-way of the Katy Railroad is still evident
immediately south of
Mockingbird Station. (Jim King photo c.2000)
Mockingbird Station is below ground to facilitate access to DART's
tunnel beneath Central Expressway south to downtown.
(Jim King photo)
Tower 35 Vicinity, Satellite Image
This Google Earth image of the vicinity of Tower 35 shows the extensive
development that has occurred here since the
tower was abandoned in the 1950s. The precise alignment of the original H&TC
tracks is unknown, and thus, the location of
Tower 35 with respect to current roads has not been determined. The east/west
thoroughfare is Mockingbird Lane, with the
DART station immediately north of where the Katy right-of-way crosses. The DART
Blue Line uses the former Katy right-of-
way to the northeast while the DART Red Line curves back to the north to rejoin
the original SP alignment. South of Mockingbird
Station, DART uses a tunnel to reach downtown. The abandoned Katy right-of-way
south of the station is still intact although
the bridge over Central Expressway is long gone. West of the freeway, the paved
Katy Trail provides a hike & bike path to
downtown Dallas along the Katy right-of-way.
