www.CottonBeltRoute.com
Preserving the Legacy of the St. Louis Southwestern Railway
and all railroads throughout Ark-La-Tex-oma's Cotton Belt Region

 

Cotton Belt Depot, Commerce, Texas
Ed Cooper photo | Robert McFatridge engineer  

The 8th Annual
Cotton Belt
Railroad Symposium

Sam Rayburn Student Center
Texas A&M University-Commerce
Commerce, Texas

Friday-Saturday, Oct. 4-5, 2013.

The 8th Annual Symposium is scheduled for  Friday Evening and Saturday on the first weekend in October.

Friday evening's activities include an informal "Show-And-Tell"/"Mix-N-Mingle," the premiere viewing of Steve Goen's video of the St.LS-W #819's 1988 & 1992 trips to Tyler, and an acoustic music Jam Session.  Bring your acoustic instrument and join in.  Railroad artifacts and information will be displayed by a number of museums, historical societies, and individuals.  If you have items of railroad interest, particularly of significance to the Cotton Belt, you would like to display, please contact Jason Davis so we can arrange for appropriate table or display space.  Please note that this is NOT a swap-meet.

The formal event on Saturday will consist of a panel discussion, the premiere viewing of Steve Goen's video of the St.LS-W #819's 1993 trip to Tyler & Athens, the induction of Harold J. McKenzie into the Texas Transportation Hall of Honor, a luncheon with musical entertainment, and update on NETEX/Blacklands Railroad operations on the Cotton Belt's former C-branch, and a presentation on Cotton Belt's FT Locomotives by Ed Cooper.  Audience participation is encouraged.  North Texas T-Trak will have an operating model train layout on-site during the event on Saturday.

After adjournment at the Student Center, Railroad Partners, Inc., will present a display of working railroad motorcars on the track at Dyer Junction in downtown Commerce and the East Texas Model Railroad Club will host an open house viewing of their club layout in the rear of the former Commerce Middle School Gymnasium, next to the downtown Fire Station.

Harold J. McKenzie
Cotton Belt President, 1951-1969

Harold J. McKenzie | Photo: Texas A&M Transportation Institute

The Cotton Belt Symposium Committee is honored to collaborate with the Texas A&M Transportation Insitute in acknowledging the outstanding leadership and transportation contributions of Cotton Belt President Harold J. McKenzie.  The Symoisum will host the official ceremony to induct Harold J. McKenzie into the Texas Transportation Hall of Honor.

Harold J. McKenzie joined the Cotton Belt Railway at its president on July 1, 1951, following 25 years as an engineer for the Southern Pacific and the completion of an Advanced Management degree at Harvard.  McKenzie is credited with the successful reorganization of the railroad and improving its safety and efficiency.  He retired from the Cotton Belt on October 31, 1969, and devoted his remaining years to active railroad consulting and civic leadership.

The 2013 Cotton Belt Symposium is dedicated to the memory of Cotton Belt Railroad President, Harold J. McKenzie, 1904-1991.

Luncheon (RSVP deadline past)

A Luncheon, sponsored by BNSF Railway and featuring live musical entertainment, is held on Saturday.  Sorry, we can no longer accept meal ticket reservations.  The deadline to request tickets was Tuesday, October 1.  Anyone may still join us for the accompanying musical entertainment, with or without a meal ticket.  Off-campus dining is available locally at a number of Commerce's fine dining establishments.

Presented by

tamuc College of Science, Engineering, & Agriculture

tamuc Department of Engineering & Technology

James G. Gee Library Special Collections

Commerce Public Library

2013 Sponsors

Luncheon Sponsor:

Gold Spike Sponsors:

Petra Strassberg & Jacqueline Book


Wayne Defebaugh, President

Bronze Spike Sponsors:

CashAdvance.com

Cletis Millsap, Chair, Northeast Texas Rural
Rail Transportation District (NETEX)

Mei-Ying Elaine Lin

Dr. Madeline & James Justice 

Sponsorship Opportunities Available...

You or your company could appear here and on our printed promotional materials for the upcoming symposium!  Multiple sponsorship levels are available.  All sponsorship contributions are tax deductable.  For more information on becoming a sponsor, please see our Sponsorship Opportunities page.  Sponsorships are accepted anytime, but must be confirmed by Friday, Sept. 23, 2013 to ensure inclusion in our major print materials in order to meet printing deadline.  Sponsorships confirmed after this date will still be acknowledged on the website and at the event.
The Symposium Committee reserves the right to decline any sponsorship application.

Symposium History

• The 7th Annual Cotton Belt Symposium
  October 5-6, 2012
   2012 Media Gallery
• The 6th Annual Cotton Belt Symposium
  September 23-24, 2011
   2011 Media Gallery
• The 4rd (5th) Annual Cotton Belt Symposium
  October 8-9, 2010
   2010 Media Gallery
• The 3rd (4th) Annual Cotton Belt Symposium
  August 8, 2009
   2009 Media Gallery
  
• The 2nd (3rd) Annual Cotton Belt Symposium:  Railroad Legacy & Lore
  August 16, 2008
   2008 Media Gallery
  
• The 1st (2nd) Annual Cotton Belt in Commerce Symposium
  April 16, 2007
   2007 Media Gallery
  
• Inaugural (1st) Event
  The Cotton Belt in Commerce Symposium
  November 30, 2006
   2006 Media Gallery
   Abbreviated due to untimely ice storm and rescheduled
   for April 16, 2007.

Everyone Welcome

Please join us for the next free, public event to document and preserve the legacy of the railroads of the Ark-La-Tex-oma region, including the St. Louis Southwestern Railway and the Cotton Belt "Family."

St.L.S-W #517 in Commerce, Texas, circa 1953  |  C.W. Standefer photo Commerce Public Library Collection  |  used with permission

A special invitation is extended to all former and current employees and their families to come and share recollections of their railroad days.  Everyone is encouraged to bring and display historical photos depicting people, places, equipment, and rail operations.  With permission, we would appreciate the opportunity to scan images or photograph artifacts for historic preservation and inclusion in the Digital Library. Staff will be available to photograph or digitize a limited number of artifacts on-site on Saturday.  It may be necessary for us to make arrangements to digitize larger collections at a later date.

Anyone interested in the history of railroading in Commerce, Northeast Texas, or system wide on the Cotton Belt or other area railroads is welcome.  This is also a reunion opportunity for members of the railroad "family."

Commerce Public Library Collection | used with permission

St.L.S-W #819 at Pittsburg, Texas, October 15, 1993  |  Jason Lee Davis photo

Agendas

Friday, October 4, 2013 – Sam Rayburn Student Center, Conference Rm. #213

4:30p    Set-up
5:00      View displays & artifacts, visit with old and new
              friends, video premiere of the Cotton Belt #819's
              1988 & 1992 Trips to Tyler, & "Hobo Jam Session"
              (informal acoustic music, bring your instrument
              and join in)
8:00p    Adjourn

Saturday, October 5, 2013 – Sam Rayburn Student Center, Conference Rm. #213

8:19a    Registration/Displays Open
8:45      Welcome and Opening remarks
9:00      Cotton Belt 819's 1993 Trip to Athens, Texas,
              Video Premiere - Steve Goen
10:15    Break
10:30    Panel Discussion
             Dr. Harley Davis, moderator (SSW, 1959-1964)
             Rollin D. Bredenberg, Southern Pacific (1964-1993)
             ...others TBA
11:45    Ceremony for the official induction of Harold J.
             McKenzie (1904-1991), Cotton Belt Railroad
             President (1951-1969), into the
             Texas Transportation Hall of Honor.
12:15    Luncheon - Sponsored by BNSF Railway
             Live musical entertainment by Leo Skyes & friends
1:45      NETEX/Blacklands (C-Branch) Update - Wayne
             Defebaugh, Blacklands Railroad President
2:00      Cotton Belt FT Locomotives - Ed Cooper
3:30-4:00  Railroad Partners Motorcar Display - @ Dyer
              Junction on the railroad in Downtown Commerce.
4:00-6:00  East Texas Model Railroad Club layout open
              house - @ back of Municipal Gym next to Fire
              Station in Downtown Commerce.

Participant Spotlight

Rollin D. Bredenberg, discussion panelist

Mr. Bredenberg worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad between June 1964 and November 1993. He began his extensive railroad career as a clerk and quickly rose through the management ranks of the SP to ultimately hold the title of vice president.  His responsibilities with the Southern Pacific included several assignments specific to the Cotton Belt.  His SSW assignments included:
  1969 - Intermodal Hub manager, Dallas
  1970 - Intermodal Hub Manager, East St. Louis
  1971-72 - Terminal Superintendant, East St. Louis 
  1973 - Terminal Superintendant, Pine Bluff
  1974-75 - Asst. Div. Supt. of San Antonio Div., Ennis
  1982-84 & 85-91 - General Manager of SSW Pine Bluff &
            Kansas City Divisions, Houston

He joined the Santa Fe Railway in 1994 as assistant vice president of Intermodal Operations.  Following the merger of the ATSF and BN Railroads that formed the BNSF Railway in 1995, he became BNSF's vice president of Transportation in 1995, vice president of Operations South in 1997, and vice president of Service Design and Performance in 1999.  He was named vice president of Capacity Planning and Operations Research for the BNSF Railway in 2011 and currently serves in this capacity. 

Mr. Bredenberg holds a B.S. Degree in Transportation from Northwestern University.  He actively serves on the boards of the Port Terminal Railroad Association of Houston (Chair), Barriger National Transportation Library, Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and the Texas A&M Transportation Institute.

We are honored to feature Mr. Bredenberg as a panelist at this year's symposium.

Event Participants

East Texas Model Railroad Club
North Texas T-Trak Modular Railroad Club

Promotional and Informational Materials

Event Flyer (pdf)
Event Poster 11"x17" (pdf)
Event Marquee 24"x36" (pdf)
VideoWall 3x2 Graphic (pdf)
InfoScreen Graphic (pdf)
Program/Agenda (pdf)

Lodging Accommodations

View Commerce Lodging information.

Important Notice

As a significant purpose of this event is historic documentation, the events will be video taped and photographed extensively.  Attendees should be aware that they are subject to appearance in video clips and photographs that may appear in library archives, digital library collections, the symposium media galleries, and other vehicles of media dissemination on the Internet.  Attendance at this event signifies voluntary consent to be included in such documentation.