The Cotton Belt, called the first Southwest railroad to burn oil

Name: The Cotton Belt, called the first Southwest railroad to burn oil
Start: 1898

Claimed first per the city’s survey1898. Card 67 of 165.

In 1898 the Cotton Belt converted its wood-fired locomotives to oil from the Corsicana field, Texas’ first commercial oil field.

The city’s 2000 National Register documentation, citing a local history, says it was the first railroad in the Southwest to use oil as fuel.

New shops were built in Tyler that year on the site of the wooden ones.

Note

A first for the railroad, not for Tyler. The year comes from the Cotton Belt Building’s National Register nomination.

National Register Multiple Property Documentation Form: Historic and Architectural Resources of Tyler, Texas (Diane E. Williams, 2000; THC Atlas)atlas.thc.texas.govUsing supplies from the wells at Corsicana the Cotton Belt was the first railroad in the southwest to use oil as fuel (Anderson:46-47).Cotton Belt was the first railroad in the southwest to use oil as fuelThat same year new shops were built at Tyler on the site of the original wood shops.
National Register nomination: Cotton Belt Building (NR 05001405, 2005; THC Atlas)atlas.thc.texas.govIn 1898 the railroad converted its wood fired locomotives to oil, using petroleum from Texas' first commercial oil field in Corsicana

Checked October 15, 2026. How the cards are filed