State Railroad Track Test on Tuesday Delayed

PALESTINE (AP) — Testing of a nearly three-mile section of track to link the tourist attraction Texas State Railroad to commercial Union Pacific Railroad has been postponed.

Texas State Railroad officials say Tuesday’s scheduled testing will be rescheduled within the next week. Spokeswoman Janet Gregg says the railroad’s information was not yet entered into UP’s dispatching computers.

UP spokeswoman Raquel Espinoza says there were some mechanical issues with a Texas State Railroad locomotive.

Backers hope the connection in Palestine will help lead to short-haul freight contracts and new revenue. The last time the route was used commercially was by the Texas South Eastern Railroad in 1969.

Gregg says her organization this fall cleared and upgraded what had been 2.8 miles of abandoned track in an effort to link with UP’s yard.