The Santa Fe Depot

Temple’s Santa Fe Depot symbolizes the city’s founding by the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad Company in 1881. Built in a Prairie-Beaux Arts style, the building was designed by Chicago architect, Jarvis Hunt, and opened for business in January 1911. Constructed of brick and stucco, the two-story project was started in August 1909 but proceeded slowly due to various delays as well as painstaking attention to detail. An attractive feature of the architecture was the long narrow loggia created by a series of large open arches, separated by heavy brick columns. The depot contained a large main waiting room, ticket office, women’s restroom, a negro waiting room, storeroom, sales room, smoking room, baggage room, telegraph offices, a vault, and offices for the trainmaster and railroad personnel. Outfitted with the comfort and convenience of travelers in mind, the depot was furnished with comfortable leather chairs and settees highlighting its marble floors and green wainscoting. The depot remained the “Queen of the Santa Fe Line” for nearly 80 years until passenger travel declined. In 1995, the City of Temple bought 8.76 acres of land surrounding the depot and the Santa Fe Railroad donated the building. The following year, Texas Department of Transportation awarded the city a $2.4 million grant for restoration, and the city invested another $1.6 million. Renovations were completed in 2000. 

One of the early trains to service the depot was a new passenger/freight line from Temple to points south with its ultimate destination in Somerville. Requested by the Temple Chamber of Commerce, the train was approved, and railroad officials passed the naming of the infant train to city fathers. A public contest was inaugurated to select a name that would “sound trippingly on the tongue and murmur voluptuously in the ears of the railway officials.” A committee of five staid married men sorted through thousands of suggestions and when the envelope containing the word “tango” was opened, the committeemen “moved by some irresistible impulse at once began rhythmically moving around in their chairs” and they unanimously favored the selection of “tango.” They wired the top five suggestions to W. S. Keenan, the Santa Fe agent at Galveston. The message was received and delivered at 3:00 a.m., “it being necessary to wake him from a sound sleep.” It was reported he exhibited no hesitation in choosing his favorite and shot a message over the wire containing a single word—“tango.” No longer an orphan, the new train now had a name. The name was suggested by Miss Reba Robinson who received a prize of $10 in gold.

Infiltrating every level of society by 1913, the tango was either vilified or glorified. Some called it a disease; state legislatures considered banning it; it was blamed for the “lack of vim and action” in Congress; and Pope Pius X declared it immoral and off-limits to Catholics. In contrast, many cities embraced the tango enthusiastically and provided creative accommodations to keep up with the public demand for places to dance. The tango inspired frocks, shoes, corsets, bloomers, veils, perfumes, hair tints, purses, fabrics, and the names of colors (particularly oranges and reds). If people weren’t dancing the tango, they were talking about it, and the people of Bell County were no exception. The Temple Daily Telegram reported that “there is a great deal of interest locally at present in the tango as well as all other late dances.” 

When the name of the new train service was announced, the Waco Morning News reported in August 1913 that no sooner had the labor unions of Waco put a ban on the name “tango” and others of similar character than “a great railway company immediately adjusts its iron heel to the neck of the honest laboring man and adopts the name ‘Tango’ for one of its passenger trains!” The Austin American-Statesman reported, “Temple dispatch doesn’t say whether it is a midnight flyer, [but it is] bound to be fast.” The Fort Worth Star-Telegram predicted that “even preachers will make use of this ‘Tango’” and those dignified persons who frowned on the new-fangled dance would be forced to do the tango after all if they elected to take the train. The Temple Daily Telegram endorsed the name choice and called it ‘the right kind of tango’: “Unofficially it has come to the ears of the promoters of the voting contest that “Tango” is the name of a very popular dance. It is said that the chief characteristic of the dance, and in fact the characteristic which is signified by the name in its original language is to “come close together.” If that be the interpretation, the name is well chosen—the train is designed for that very purpose, of bringing the people to the south of Temple into closer relationships, commercially, socially, and otherwise.

The train was christened and made its first run on August 25, 1913. On its initial trip from Somerville, it carried forty passengers in one car and eighteen cars of lumber. A crowd of enthusiastic citizens gathered at the depot as the train rolled in at 10 o’clock. A return trip left Temple at 5:00 p.m., arriving at its destination by 8:45 p.m. People who lived in Rogers and Heidenheimer were the most frequent users, and the postmaster reported the train facilitated mail service south as well. When it was too wet to plow, farmers often rode the Tango to Temple to purchase needed supplies. Temple merchants promoted Dollar Days in September and the response was overwhelming. Customers waited in lines for stores to open and shopped until they dropped when stores closed at 6:00 p.m. According to the Telegram, passengers, mostly women, were packed like sardines in two coaches and a combination car on the Tango train, and others arrived via the Katy line. Autos, buggies, and wagons were in force as those closer to town took advantage of the bargains. Merchants were caught unaware and ill-prepared for the crowds but happily surprised. The Tango train proved a real boon to merchants, and the newspaper’s alliterative slogan encouraged more business: “Take the Tango train to Temple, trader!” During the severe flooding of December 1913, the trains were temporarily halted until repairs along the tracks at Cameron were made. Rumors circulated that the train was removed for good and when the Santa Fe office was inundated with anxious inquiries, they assured passengers the train would resume its normal schedule. Passenger service resumed about the middle of the month, and the newspaper stated, “A little thing like a flood can’t compare to an overwhelming demand for the train.” To encourage Christmas shoppers, the following poem appeared in the Temple Daily Telegram on December 18, 1913:

                                               Take the Tango Train to Temple

                                               And proceed to make a dimple

                                               In a cushioned seat with simple

                                               Pressure on its top my son:

                                               Lean ‘way back and let ‘er flicker

                                               While the engine, with a snicker

                                               Brings you here to make a dicker

                                               For some Christmas joy and fun.

                                               Do your Xmas shopping early.

                                               Buy that present for your girlie,

                                               And the one for Aunt Lucindy

                                               And likewise, for Uncle Pete.

                                               For the Tango Train will fetch you

                                               Right to Temple where, you bet you

                                               You can buy the things that get you

                                               Satisfaction quite complete.

                                               Need a present? – why, by jiggers

                                               Come and get one with the figgers

                                               Marked ‘way down – (suppress those sniggers)

                                               For your special benefit.

                                               Want some pretties for your Honey?

                                               Then just take a little money

                                               And the Tango Train, I-swanny

                                               And to Templetown you flit.

                                               Make your Christmas shopping simple,

                                               Take the Tango Train to Temple

                                               Where a shopgirl with a dimple

                                               Is awaiting your command.

                                               Where there’s wares from every nation

                                               Bargains that do beat creation

                                               And a welcome and elation

                                               Will be yours on every hand.

Over 200 people were transported to Temple on the Tango in the days leading up to Christmas. The Katy line and interurban brought additional folks who carried with them eggs, butter, and other perishables to sell at local markets. Flood conditions in the rural areas prevented farmers from reaching town. Even muddy streets did not deter shoppers on Christmas Eve. By summer of 1914, local merchants planned a trade excursion to carry a local delegation to visit cities, towns, and communities south of Temple. A special train composed of five coaches, baggage car, oil tender and engine, and Superintendent Hull’s private car carried most of Temple’s businessmen on the day-long trip. A troupe of local artists went along to perform at each station. Upon their arrival in Somerville at the end of the line, the “trade trippers” enjoyed speeches and entertainment at the Airdome. When the circus came to town in 1916, train officials sent seven extra coaches on the Tango south and on the No. 75 west to accommodate the large crowds. 

The Tango Train experienced at least two accidents in its lifetime. In December 1914, although seven train cars derailed at Milano, there were no injuries. In May 1915, the train wrecked at Coaldale between Cameron and Milano. A box car and a flat car of lumber were thrown from the track, but passengers in the rear of the train only felt a slight shock. The train remained popular, and locals hailed its reliability, punctuality, and convenience. In January 1915, Santa Fe Superintendent Hull was questioned about rumors that the Tango Train would be taken off the regular run between Temple and Somerville. After conducting a thorough investigation into the matter, the Telegram reported there was no foundation to the story. “Temple citizens worked hard to get the Tango, but they would gladly work harder to keep it on its regular run. According to railroad officials the Tango is a permanent fixture and nothing short of the most extraordinary circumstances would cause its annulment.” After April 1916, the Tango Train all but disappeared from news reports. Did it fizzle out like the tango dance? No one seems to know.  

“Christmas Crowd Filled Temple’s Streets Tuesday.” Temple Daily Telegram. December 24, 1913.

“Dollar Day.” Temple Daily Telegram. September 23, 1913.

“Even Preachers Will Make Use of This ‘Tango.’” Fort Worth Star-Telegram. August 29, 1913.

“Everything Ready for Trade Trip.” Temple Daily Telegram. June 1, 1914.

“Is the Tango Now Turning the United States Topsy-Turvy?” Messenger-Inquirer. July 19, 1914.

“Local Train Service Crippled.” Temple Daily Telegram. April 24, 1915.

“New Train Named ‘Tango.’” The Austin American-Statesman. August 29, 1913.

“Right Kind of Tango.” Temple Daily Telegram. February 28, 1915.

“Santa Fe Prepared for Circus Crowd.” Temple Daily Telegram. October 7, 1915.

“Somerville-Temple Train.” Waco Morning News. August 22, 1913.

“Taking the Tango Train to Temple.” Temple Daily Telegram. October 15, 1913.

“Tango Is Selected as Name of Santa Fe’s New Train.” Waco Morning News. August 29, 1913.

“Tango Running Again.” Temple Daily Telegram. December 21, 1913.

“Tango Train Derailed.” Temple Daily Telegram. December 22, 1914.

“Tango Train Will Not Be Annulled.” Temple Daily Telegram. January 1, 1915.

“Tangoing to Temple.” Temple Daily Telegram. September 18, 1913.

"Temple's New Passenger Station." Temple Daily Telegram, January 29, 1911.