The RS&S railroad was originally built as an industrial line by the Federal Fuel Company in 1918, and extended from Marjorie, on the International and Great Northern, to Sandow, a distance of six miles, in order to tap the lignite deposits of southwestern Milam County.
This company was later reorganized as the Standard Fuel Company, and still later acquired by the McAlester Fuel Company of McAlester, Oklahoma.
The McAlester Fuel Company's first car went out of Sandow station Christmas Eve, 1923. They called their station "Sandow" in admiration of the famous strong man, promoted by Florenz Ziegfield, of Follies fame, because they thought lignite, as a fuel would someday typify the strength of Sandow. A railroad regulation of yesteryear required that any line, regardless of purpose, had to provide round trip passenger service daily, except Sundays and holidays. Therefore regular passenger service had to be maintained, between Marjorie and Sandow. Although freight traffic was heavy, passenger service was almost non-existent, as in the 30 years of passenger service, only 20 tickets were ever sold.
It was not economically feasible to run a passenger coach back and forth every day, so a partial solution was found. To meet passenger service requirements, an automobile, adapted to fit the rails, was run each day instead of a locomotive and passenger coach. This vehicle was given the number 26. It was a Pierce-Arrow, which an oil promoter had parted with, in Rockdale. Number 26 was later used to carry the section gang to and from maintenance work locations. Some of the original equipment was sold to Hollywood, for the recreation of ancient railroad scenes so necessary to the making of western movies.
In fact, locomotive No. 4 and a passenger coach, from the RS&S played fairly important roles in the movie "Jesse James." Old engine No. 3 never got in on any of the glamour of Hollywood, and today nothing is left of No. 3 except her brass bell. The bell, say the maintenance men, has a sweet tone, as noted in the Rockdale Reporter 1954. This bell was eventually donated to the Rockdale-Cameron schools and survives today as the Cameron-Rockdale football victory bell.
The RS&S RR hauled as many as 6,552 carloads of lignite a year over its roadbed from Sandow to Marjorie, for delivery to I&GN RR. The RS&S's biggest toot came when Alcoa moved into town in the early 1950's. The line passed through the future plant site and was purchased to carry lignite to the power facility. The original train route was moved when Alcoa Lake was built as a cooling reservoir for the Sandow power plant.
Today, the RS&S, a wholly owned Alcoa subsidiary, doesn't carry passengers, or haul lignite from the mines, but remains Rockdale Works critical link to suppliers, customers, and other Alcoa Locations. {History compiled circa November 1989}
A nice, but short history of the Rockdale, Sandow & Southern can be found in The Handbook of Texas Online at: RS&S RAILROAD. A longer, more detailed history will soon be found here.
MORE ROCKDALE, SANDOW AND SOUTHERN PHOTOS CAN BE FOUND AT THIS LINK:
Visitors to this page: 