Austin and Northwestern Railroad Historic District-Fairland to Llano

The Austin & Northwestern Railroad Historic District (Fairland to Llano) operated freight service on the line from 1892 until its successor Southern Pacific Railroad's last run on 30 January 1981. Passenger service, a prominent original function of the line, slowly diminished through the 1930s Depression, with the last known excursion from Llano transporting local citizens to events of the 1936 Texas Centennial celebration; unadvertised tickets on freight train cabooses no doubt brought the occasional non-automobile traveler to Llano, through World War II. This railroad for most of a century brought to Llano—and stops along the way building materials and finished products, visitors and salesmen, prosperity and connection to a larger world, and carried away raw materials, livestock, and its own citizens on great adventures. This historic district nominates property in Burnet and Llano counties in the right of way and along the tracks now owned by the Capital Metropolitan Transit Authority between Elgin and Llano, purchased in 1986 with federal assistance by the City of Austin from the Southern Pacific. Contract freight service continues to utilize the Fairland to Scobee section for access to granite quarries, but in 1994 the contract operator "embargoed,” or declared discontinued, the Scobee to Llano section for a distance of 26.4 miles. Today, this original 29.9-mile extension, its associated engineering structures, and adjacent rail-related buildings form a cohesive district that represents an excellent and relatively unspoiled example of turn-of-the-century bridges, track, trusses and trestles built between the years 1891 and 1947, the 50-year cut off date for eligibility. Therefore, the Austin & Northwestern Railroad Historic District (Fairland to Llano) meets National Register Criteria in the areas of Transportation, Engineering, and Architecture at the local level of significance.