www.CottonBeltRoute.com
Preserving the Legacy of the St. Louis Southwestern Railway

 

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."  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, presentations, a luncheon with musical entertainment, and and other activities to be determined.  Audience participation is encouraged.

Luncheon (RSVP required)

A Luncheon, featuring live musical entertainment, is held on Saturday.  Advance reservations are required for meal tickets.  The deadline to request tickets will be announced upon confirmation of the dates for the next event.  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

TAMU-Commerce College of Science, Engineering, & Agriculture

TAMU-Commerce Department of Engineering & Technology

James G. Gee Library Special Collections

Commerce Public Library

Sponsorships Available...

You or your company could appear here and on our printed promotional materials for the next symposium!  Multiple sponsorship levels are available.  All sponsorship contributions are tax deductable.  For more information on becoming a sponsor at one of the levels identified below, please contact Dr. Jason Lee Davis at Jason@JDavis.us or 903-886-8066.
The Symposium Committee reserves the right to decline any sponsorship offer.

Sponsorship levels

Luncheon Sponsorships:

contact Jason for information

Gold Spike Sponsorship:  $500 or more

includes gold-level acknowledgement and name/logo on advertising & website

Silver Spike Sponsor:  $250

includes silver-level acknowledgement and name/logo on advertising & website

Bronze Spike Sponsor: $100

includes bronze-level acknowledgement and name on advertising & website

Iron Spike Sponsor:  $50

includes iron-level acknowledgement and name on website

Past Symposiums

• The 7th Annual Cotton Belt Symposium
  October 5-6, 2012
• 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 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

Participants

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.