West Point is a small, rural community in western Fayette County that was established in 1887 at the junction of two rail lines. That year, the Missouri-Kansas-Texas ("Katy") railroad built through the area as they constructed a line from Waco to Houston. The San Antonio and Aransas Pass built a rail line from Yoakum to West Point in the same year. Two years later, construction resumed north from West Point across the Colorado River to Lexington and eventually to Rockdale, Cameron and Waco. In 1914, traffic on the SA&AP route increased significantly as the "Dalsa Cutoff" was completed between Giddings and Hearne. This cutoff enabled Southern Pacific transcontinental trains between Los Angeles and the midwest to bypass Houston by taking a route between Hearne and Flatonia that passed through West Point. Tower 91, a manual interlocking tower, was formally established in West Point at this time, although it may have existed for some years.
Both railroads eventually became part of Union Pacific: the Katy as a part of the Missouri Pacific system - the SA&AP as a part of the Southern Pacific system. The crossing at West Point continues to be frequently used. East-west trains service the coal-fired power plant in eastern Fayette County and can also access the Sunset Route at Tower 17 via the BNSF connection at Sealy. North-south trains continue to use the Dalsa Cutoff between Flatonia and Hearne.
Text and photo by Jim King.
