West Texas and Lubbock Railway

West Texas and Lubbock Railway

The West Texas & Lubbock Railway (WTLC) operates 107 miles of railroad on two lines extending from Lubbock, TX to Seagraves and Whiteface, TX. The railroad serves the agricultural area west and southwest of Lubbock and the oil fields of west Texas. The primary commodities hauled are fertilizer, construction aggregates, grain, cotton, chemicals, peanuts and plastics.

HISTORY

The origin of the two lines that make up today's WTLC is the Crosbyton-Southplains Railroad Company (CS) which was chartered in 1910 to built a line from Lubbock to Crosbyton, TX. In 1915, the CS was purchased by the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (ATSF) which changed its name to the South Plains and Santa Fe Railway (SPSF). The Seagraves line was completed by the SPSF in 1918. In 1917, the SPSF was leased by the Panhandle and Santa Fe (PSF), also controlled by the ATSF. The Whiteface line was completed in 1925 to Bledsoe, TX. The SPSF and PSF were eventually merged into the ATSF. ATSF sold the two lines in 1990, minus Bledsoe to Whiteface portion abandoned in 1984, to the Seagraves Whiteface and Lubbock Railroad (SWLR). SWLR was purchased by shortline holding company RailAmerica (RA) in 1995. RA then renamed SWLR to West Texas & Lubbock Railroad. RA sold the WTLC to Permian Basin Railways on May 25, 2002.