PLANO, Texas — The Plano of today might not seem much like a railroad town, but the town’s rail history runs deep.
The Houston & Central Texas Railway completed its line in 1872, and the rail link helped Plano’s growth; the city was incorporated in 1873.
About three decades later, in 1908, the Texas Traction Company completed a 65-mile interurban line between Dallas to Sherman, where it connected with the Denison and Sherman Railway, the first interurban rail line in The Lone Star State.
In 1917, the Texas Traction Company merged with the Southern Traction Company to form the Texas Electric Railway Company. With more than 200 miles of track, the new company was the largest interurban rail network in the south.
The line operated through Plano until 1948. The former interurban station, located at 901 E 15th Street is home to the Interurban Railway Museum.
The Houston & Central Texas was later part of the Texas & New Orleans Railroad, a Southern Pacific Railroad subsidiary. The railroad later abandoned the tracks through Plano, and the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) later purchased the right-of-way and runs a part of its red and orange lines on the former line.
Kansas City Southern still operates the former Cotton Belt line, built in the 1880s, through Plano.