Cleburne, TX (CBR)

Ticket Revenue

FY 2011

$178,811

Station Ridership

FY 2011

3,590

Note: Fiscal year is from
October through September.

Cleburne’s Intermodal Transportation Depot, constructed in 1999, serves both Amtrak and local bus transit. It also houses the dispatch office for CLETRAN, the city’s local transit system. The city of Cleburne was deeded property for the new station by Santa Fe Railway (now BNSF) and obtained two grants through the state of Texas for Section 5311(f) funds. The total cost of the project was $400,000, 80 percent of which was funded through 5311(f), and the remainder through the city’s land donations and general fund.

Cleburne was the site of a major Santa Fe locomotive backshop, which opened in 1898 and is most noted for the conversion of the former F7 locomotives into the Cleburne F7 (CF7) and the SF30C locomotives. Some of the former shop buildings can still be seen on the east side of the track. In the past, you could also reach Cleburne on the Katy, Trinity & Brazos Valley (T&BV) interurban line. The T&BV station and the Santa Fe depot were located adjacent to one another, but in 2002, the 1903 T&BV station was demolished after some acrimonious debate. The Santa Fe depot once used by Amtrak’s Texas Eagle, but was torn down in the 1990s and replaced by the intermodal depot.

Cleburne’s Railroad Museum Committee is currently planning to open a railroad museum using 4B funds, a voter-approved sales tax. The museum will be located north of the Intermodal Depot along the railroad tracks and will be modeled after the T&BV depot. The city’s red Santa Fe caboose, donated in 1989 and currently in a semi permanent location at the Layland Museum, will be moved to the new location. A breezeway will connect the museum to the intermodal depot.

Cleburne was founded in 1854 as Camp Henderson; a Civil War outpost; however, the name was changed in 1867 to honor Confederate General Pat Cleburne. The city was incorporated in 1871, and was a farming and cattle ranching center until the opening of the Santa Fe shops, which caused the population to boom.

Attractions in Cleburne include the Layland Museum (formerly the Carnegie Library), Splash Station (a water park), and Cleburne State Park, which offers camping, fishing, swimming, and paddle boats.

Recently, Cleburne has experienced minor earthquakes for the first time in its history. The events have been blamed on the new natural-gas boom; more than 200 wells have been drilled around the city. A geophysicist has been hired to investigate.

Amtrak does not provide ticketing or baggage services at this facility.

Cleburne is served by two daily trains.