The Waco Citizen (Waco, Tex.), Vol. 59, No. 69, Ed. 1 Tuesday, September 1, 1987 Page: 6 of 24
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PAGE 6, TEXAS 150 PROGRESS, WACO, TEXAS, SEPT. 1986-87
Transportation—
Waco’s Destiny
By ROY WALTHALL
Have you ever invisioned what Waco would be like in the year 2001?
Some say it won’t be much different then it is in 1986. However, if some
dynamic ideas begin to be implemented now in the area of transportation,
then Waco could truly become the hub of the Texas Triangle.
Historically, being a highway, rail, and air center wouldn’t be anything
new for this area. Waco during its zenith was an important air base for the
Air Force, an important rail center for as many as twenty trains a day, and
was and still is an important highway headquarters.
Texas is a large state in area, and by the twenty-first century will rank only
behind California as the second most popular State. Although, large in size,
eighty percent of the population resides within a hundred and seventy-five
miles of Waco. No other city over 25,000 population can boast of that
geographic fact, save but for Temple.
TRANSPORTATION
The transportation vision for the future calls for Waco to be one of three
apexes for a statewide rapid rail system. These would be electric trains riding
on an electromagnetic field at speeds in excess of 250 mph. The map below
depicts a proposed scheme in which Waco would play a key role as the feeder
for the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Similarly Austin and Biyan would play
the same role as feeders for San Antonio and Houston respectively.
RAPID RAIL
Another important point in the rapid rail scheme would be TSTI. It could
provide the crucial role in training the technicians for this advanced state of
the art technology. The rapid rail system would not be like the old railroads
which were labor intensive. Instead this system would rely on electronics,
computers, and robonics to operate the high speed trains which could carry
around a hundred passengers.
Envision catching a high-speed train from Waco every two hours between
7 a.m. and 5 p.m. with one train heading to Bryan and Austin in a clockwise
direction and the other heading for Austin and Bryan in a counter-clockwise
direction. Those trains would make connections with trains heading to
Houston and San Antonio respectively. From Waco a third train leaves
every two hours for Dallas-Fort Worth, only a thirty-minute trip.
The five computer electronic guided trains would all be controlled from a
control center located here. In addition each night the trains would return to
Waco for repairs and inspection. In addition track system monitoring would
be conducted from the Waco base. In short Waco would become the high
tech rapid rail center for not only Texas, but the nation.
REGIONAL AIRPORT
In the air, envision the former James Connally AFB as a bi-county
regional airport for Bell and McLennan counties. By day it has commercial
jet aircrafts of the 727, or 737 variety owned by airline companies such as
Southwest, Piedmont, etc. There would be a total of three morning outbound
flights and three afternoon inbound flights with destinations of Las
Vegas/Los Angeles; New Orleans/Atlanta; and Chicago.
It would not be a large regional airport, but it would allow the many air
travelers in Central Texas to reach the major air centers in the United States
without having to disembark. Temple, Killeen, Georgetown to the south,
Waxachie to the north could all be connected to the airport by a privately
owned high speed rail system.
By night, after TSTI classes are out, the former air base will bustling as
an air freight terminal for major air carriers like Federal Express, Skycab, etc.
As many as thirty cargo aircraft with designations all over the United States
could be taking off with air freight. They would all return before the
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RAIL
Rapid Rail means a personnel
carrier that could transport
passengers from urban centers at
speeds in excess of 150 mph. The
Japanese developed the first “Bullet
Train” which runs between Tokyo
and South Japan at speeds averaging
165 mph, the French followed with
“La Train” between Paris and the
Mediterranean at speeds of 200 mph.
The .Germans are presently designing
a system that will exceed 250 and so
are the Russians. The United States
has no such system in the works.
Most rapid rail trains carry a hun-
dred passengers on an elec-
tromagnetic force-field in reality the
train never touches a rail.
AIR
In the future service
technological age, communications
and transportation will be the key
components. All service businesses
will need ready access to air travel for
both the shipment of small freight
and for carrying people. There will
only be five super-regional airports in
the U.S. (New York, Chicago, Los
Angeles, Atlanta and Dallas-Fort
Worth). However, this does not
mean that a growing city situated
only a hundred miles to the south of
one of these giants must be com-
placent with only commuter air ser-
vice. A Bi-County Regional airport
for Bell and McLennan Counties
coupled with an advance air freight
terminal complex would turn Waco
into a distribution center, and a
cooperate headquarters for many
world wide second echelon com-
panies.
ifelp
Valley to Houston. This interstate numbered IH-37, begins in Amarillo and
goes through Lubbock. If it came through Waco it would make US an inter-
state crossroads with north/south and east/west arteries.
TRANSPORTATION CENTER
What all three of these ventures have in common is making Waco the
transportation center of Texas. It would introduce us to the advances of a
high technology that would put the United States equal or above all the other
industrialized nations in modem rail technology. Presently, America which
leads the world in so many fields is dead last in advance rail systems. We in
Waco could change all that.
The air freight terminal could cause, us to become the wholesale
distribution center for the entire State of Texas, and thus create untold num-
bers of new jobs and employment opportunities.
The rapid rail and regional airport along with our outstanding quality of
life would enable our Chamber to attract many medium sized cooperate
headquarters to move to Waco. Here their officers can relax in our tranquil
environment, yet at the same time they are within thirty minutes of all three
major urban centers in Texas and by air are connected with most of the hub
centers of the U.S.
HIGHWAYS
The highway system would merge west/east to north/south thus creating
an ideal setting in Waco to attract tourist, conventions, and might expand
our freight trucking firms. Each of those areas would promote employment
and renewed economic growth.
Transportation is our future and our key, because our history demon-
strated its power to this area once before. However, it’s our geography that
puts us in the very Heart of Texas that makes us so appealing. This is a vision
of how the Waco of the year 2001 could be, but it would orily be if we began
now to act and take risk.
The looming nightmare is that we still sit back, be cautious as always and
arrive at the year 2001 only to see another central Texas city be the interstate
crossroads with their own regional airport and air freight terminal. That city
in all probability will be the leader in the high tech rapid rail system, and our
Waco will not even be served on the route, because of its total insignificance
to the bigger economic scheme of things.
It is therefore crucial that we begin planning now, our destiny is with tran-
sportation and our future is tied to that destiny.
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ROAD
Highways are the lifeblood of
modem commerce just as rail was a
century ago. However, by the 21st
Century cars will be very different
then today. For example, a vehicle
which looks like a modem low-to-the-
ground sports car without wheels
may be the auto’s replacement. It
would be like a hoovercraft
powered by electrical engines driven
by space-age fuel cells fueled by
oxygen and hydrogen gasses. This
vehicle would be totally non-
polluting, its fuel unlimited, and
because of riding on a cushion of air,
it could make futre highways ob-
solete. No area of the U.S. has even
begun to work on such a prototype,
but Waco could be the first.
Au s t i n
San Antonio
Ti
{—\^J
Goodyear
Tire
vr
KENDRICK TIRE CO., INC.
753-2491 • 511 Franklin
Serving Central Texas for Over 60 Years with truly Professional Tire-Brakes & Alignment
THE BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD TO GET TIRES, BATTERIES & SERVICE
"No Brag — Just Facts.”
Waco Spring
& Brake Service
Waco Spring & Brake Service,
Inc., located at 3305 South Inter-
state 35, has a skilled work force
that has accumulated more than
100 years of experience in working
on automobiles and trucks.
Waco Spring & Brake first
opened its doors in 1929 at Fourth
and Washington and has been at
its present location since January
of 1980. Its original name was
Waco Spring & Bumper Service,
but the “bumper” tag was
eliminated following the war when
auto makers changed the style on
bumpers.
“We have an experienced staff
in all phases of under-car repair,”
says Mabry Brown, who is co-
owner of the business with Jim
Howell.
“We are one of the few shops in
Central Texas that has the heavy
equipment to align the front ends
of diesel trucks,” Brown says.
“We do all types of car and
truck repairs,” Howell notes.
Waco Spring & Brake has 11
employees skilled in working on
suspensions, front ends, align-
ments, springs and all types of
brakes.
The company handles anything
from single vehicles to fleet
operations. It can duplicate
springs, make special springs or
custom design and form special
springs for specific commercial
and industrial applications.
Lawrence Harrison, long on experience
Veteran employee Jerry Hoffman
Stanley
Williams
Kendrick
Wall
BIAS PLY
POPULAR BIAS PLY
Power
Streak II
WHITEWALL
SIZE
SALE PRICE
NO TRADE
NEEDED
E78-14
$30.95
F78-14
$34.95
G78-14
$35.95
F78-15
$36.95
G78-15
$37.95
H78-15
$38.95
Sale Ends Wed., Sept. 17
RADIAL
Mike
Breen
SERVICE^ TiemP° Radia>
7 AM-5:30 PM
SATURDAY
7 AM-12 noon:
The Original
All Season Radial
P155/80R13
Whitewall.
With
old tire.
P165/80R13
P185/80R13
P185/75R14
P195/75R14
P205/75R14
P205/75R15
P215/75R15
P225/V5R15
P235/75R15
$46.25
$48.40
$50.45
$54.90
$59.75
$60.75
$63.85
$65.90
$70.05
“Where your Business is Appreciated”
IF ITS NOT RIGHT WE MAKE IT RIGHT
THE PLACE THAT SELLS MERCHANDISE THAT DOESN’T
COME BACK-TO PEOPLE THAT DO.
Your Safety is our Business
Brakes by Professional Mechanics
ALIGNMENT & FRONT END WORK BY
PROFESSIONAL MECHANICS
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Foster, C. A. The Waco Citizen (Waco, Tex.), Vol. 59, No. 69, Ed. 1 Tuesday, September 1, 1987, newspaper, September 1, 1987; Waco, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth621518/m1/6/?rotate=90: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .