Whistle in the Piney Woods: Paul Bremond and the Houston, East and West Texas Railway [Hardcover]

Robert S. UNT Maxwell (Author), Archie P. McDonald (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1998

From its beginning in 1875, the Houston, East and West Texas Railway was Paul Bremond's individualistic and personal enterprise. Small independent companies without significant financial resources and without affiliation with the large trunk lines, frequently sought to build into isolated rural areas, to open new sections to commercial opportunity, and to link inland towns with the larger port cities. Such a man was Paul Bremond, who built his railroad through the Piney Woods of East Texas and opened that region to the outside world.

Whistle in the Piney Woods is the story of the railroad's symbiotic relationship with the lumber industry and its role in the development of East Texas. The man and his railroad provide a significant case study of the development of short lines in the United States. The story is a worthy addition to the history of American railroads as well as to the history of the East Texas region.

The late Robert S. Maxwell, with degrees from Kentucky Wesleyan, the University of Cincinnati, and the University of Wisconsin, was a Distinguished Professor and the first Regent's Professor at Stephen F. Austin State University, where he also chaired the Department of History and served as a director of the national Forest History Society.

Co-Published with East Texas Historical Association

Editorial Reviews

Review

A sympathetic account of the founding of the Houston, East and West Texas Railroad by entrepreneur Paul Bremond. Emphasizes the railroad's relationship with the lumber industry and its role in the development of East Texas. Although there is some uncertainty, it appears to have been originally published in 1963 in Houston by the Texas Gulf Coast Historical Association. This edition includes a new introduction. -- Book News, Inc. December 18, 1998

Although invented in the early 19th century, the railroad was a late comer to Texas. Several railroads were chartered during the Republic, but none were ever built. By 1975 there was only some 75,000 miles of track in the state, mostly short lines, . . . This is the story of one of the larger of these short lines, the Houston, East & West Railway. . . . As with all books on shortlines, there is the subject of official versus unofficial names for the lines. A previous review brought out the Waco, Beaumont, Trinity & Sabine was known as the Wobblety, Bobblety, Turnover & Stop, or We Won't Be Back Till Saturday. This book brings up a few more. Texas & New Orleans was Time No Object or Turnips and New Onions; Houston East & West Texas was either Hell Either Way Taken (popular) or How Easy We Travel (official and therefore never used, especially when an excursion train to Houston put its overload of passengers in box cars!) -- Paul Cardwell Jr., The Paris News, Sunday, November 1, 1998

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: University of North Texas Press; 1st edition (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157441061X
• ISBN-13: 978-1574410617
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,114,357 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Whistle in the Piney Woods, January 14, 2011

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This review is from: Whistle in the Piney Woods: Paul Bremond and the Houston, East and West Texas Railway (Hardcover)

I have roots in the piney woods going back to 1893 as well as a curiosity about railroads and I found this very good reading. The book really explains a lot of reasons of why the piney woods developed like it did. I believe other small developing rail roads probably had the same problems all over america.