Our mission statement is "To foster educational, entertaining, and inspiring encounters with the history of local railroads and industry." Through the generous support of the City of Rusk, we have acquired the former Cotton Belt rail yard near downtown Rusk, TX. Our primary goal is to develop the yard into an interactive railroad museum where visitors can learn about the history of industry and ra
ilroads in the area during the industrial revolution, and where trained volunteers can gain hands-on experience maintaining and restoring our collection. Our keystone locomotive project, Temple Lumber Co. #20 is a 96 ton 2-8-2 Baldwin built in 1930. It spent its entire career working in the woods of East Texas. We have also taken ownership of the historic ATSF Pineland Depot. We are deeply grateful for the City of Pineland's commitment to preserving this these treasures and for working with us to ensure their future. SPLCo is a volunteer-driven grassroots organization. We encourage members of the community with skills relating to the upkeep and restoration of our collection to apply to volunteer on our website. As our facility grows, we aim to provide a place where members of the community with a passion for preserving history can learn the many crafts and trades that contribute to preserving and restoring our collection. We invite you to follow along as we bring these relics of a bygone era back to life. Your support, donations, and volunteer time will make all the difference as we write the next chapter of Texas railroading history together!
