Texas State Railroad 2-8-2 No. 30, dressed as former Tremont & Gulf Railway, brings a small freight train through Rusk, TX, past the depot. The original Texas State Railroad was started as a narrow gauge line by the state of Texas in 1881. It was built by prison inmates to bring raw materials and fuel to the Rusk Penitentiary iron smelter, and to take finished products out. The penitentiary, located further east along the line, was closed in 1917 but re-opened a year later as the Rusk State Hospital, which it remains to this day. The depot seen here was designed to look like it was built at the turn of the century but was actually not built until the 1970's. Taking a card from the past, it was built utilizing prison labor, as well as civilian contractors.
