IronTiger Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 There's a bizarre railroad spur that goes along the bridge to Pelican Island. A circa-1980s atlas shows it curling around to the island.It's been not used for a while (note the cactus between the rails) and the space between the road and the water is so narrow it's likely unsafe.It curled around to Texas Clipper Road.Unfortunately, I have no idea when this thing was abandoned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLTX Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 I guess it's been years since I've been to Pelican Island. I forgot about the railroad track there. I assumed it wasn't even there anymore. I first noticed that as a kid (early-mid 1980's?), and although it seemed rarely (if ever) used then, the track was at least still in place on both sides of the bridge, whereas it looks from the aerial as if it's been severed on the Galveston side, and just totally gone on the Pelican side. The thing that intrigued me (if I remember correctly) is that the railroad track climbed grade on the bridge just like the highway side, which I thought was totally unusual. It's been 25 years though, so I could be dreaming that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted April 25, 2009 Author Share Posted April 25, 2009 Thanks for replying! And welcome to the HAIF!It kind of disappears into the underbrush in real life and appears to go out to Port Industrial Road. But Google Street View doesn't show that. If I go to Galveston again I'll visit it (and try to pump some money back into the local economy) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plumber2 Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 Pelican Island Bridge is owned and operated by a Navigation District. The district, Galveston Navigation District #1, was formed back in the 50's to finance the bridge and spur development on Pelican Island. The railroad spur was never picked up by an industry on the other side, so it was eventually abandoned. The bridge and approaches are in need of repair and several guard rail spans missing. The Navigation District is seeking funds for those repairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted April 26, 2009 Author Share Posted April 26, 2009 The railroad bridge or the road bridge? The railroad bridge is in disrepair but repairing the railroad bridge is kind of pointless... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 If memory serves correctly that spur originally ran all the way out Pelican Island to the old Todd Shipyards drydocks. Todd went bellyup in the late 80's, early 90's, shortly after the refurbishing of the Battelship Texas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plumber2 Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 If memory serves correctly that spur originally ran all the way out Pelican Island to the old Todd Shipyards drydocks. Todd went bellyup in the late 80's, early 90's, shortly after the refurbishing of the Battelship Texas?I don't remembering the tracks going out that far, but they could have. I used to go out to Pelican Island in the early 70's to watch the older guys race cars. The railroad tracks near the bridge were overgrown and rusty even then. This was back in the days before cell phones or even the CB radio popularity. The guys would station a couple of cars up at the base of the bridge. If they saw the cops coming over the causeway from Broadway they would flash their lights and race out to the drag location to notify the others. There were some pretty hot cars at these impromptu events. Chevelle 396's, 440 GTX's, GTO's, Mustangs....... What an era! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted April 28, 2009 Author Share Posted April 28, 2009 The map wasn't that old. Everything seemed to have been from the mid-1980s. The Katy railroad was there, but the IGN was not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plumber2 Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 The railroad bridge or the road bridge? The railroad bridge is in disrepair but repairing the railroad bridge is kind of pointless...It's one bridge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted May 27, 2009 Author Share Posted May 27, 2009 Here is another bizarre instance of the spur. This must be connected to the Pelican Island Spur, somehow....Abandoned switcher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted July 6, 2009 Author Share Posted July 6, 2009 A 1976 atlas shows the railroad in higher resolution: it would be along that white path to the left (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Pelican+Island+Galveston&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=43.25835,69.697266&ie=UTF8&ll=29.300397,-94.82465&spn=0.002919,0.004254&t=h&z=18&iwloc=A).This means that it was set up so the train would be forced to back up into the spur. It was around since at least 1970. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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