From: streeter@cs.unca.edu (Tom Streeter)
Subject: Re: SA RR tracks...
Organization: University of North Carolina at Asheville
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1992 18:00:39 GMT

In article <Bz2pqE.CqF@news.iastate.edu> tnhe6@isuvax.iastate.edu writes:
>
>	Hello again,
>
>	I believe I may have found (refound?) the location of those
>	railroad tracks and the crossing. Again, this may have already
>	been posted; please confirm or correct the location if you have
>	the original post.
>

I always knew the street map of San Antonio I keep on my office wall
would come in handy (now if I could only get such good usage out of the
Taco Cabana menu.........)

Anyway, I've located the place given in the post.

The subdivision is one called McCreless Meadows (for its lack of McCre's
apparently :-)  ).  It's on the southeast side of town a little west of
where S. Presa (S122) crosses 410.  The street names in the subdivision
are as follows:

Laura Lee  Otis  Nancy  Richey  Cindy Sue  Carole  Robbie Allen  
Shane

The map shows a Southern Pacific right-of-way crossing Shane St. (or
Rd., or whatever).  Actually, the tracks  are where Villamain Rd. turns
into Shane (which later turns into Southton Rd.).  Picture this:

The whole thing is generally oriented north-south.  Villamain runs
north-south and parallels the RR tracks.  At a point just south of where
the road and tracks pass under 410, the road makes a dogleg east and
crosses the tracks.  At this point the road name changes to Shane and is
the point of interest of all this as best I can tell.  The road
continues east as Shane for about 3/4 of a mile, then turns south as
Southton Rd.  The subdivision proper lies to the north of Shane (between
Shane and 410) with Robbie Allen and Richey intersecting Shane.

I see two ways to get there:

1.  Get on Military Drive from I-37, go to Mission Rd. and turn south on
Mission (this will be the Brooks AFB/SA State Hospital area).  Follow
Mission south, where it will turn into Ashley, then Villamain.
Villamain will cross under the 410 Loop.  About 1/3 of a mile south of
the loop, the road will make a sharp left and cross the tracks you've
been paralleling since the road turned into Villamain.  This is the
spot.

2.  From Loop 410:  Exit S. Presa (S122) and head north (ok, northwest)
*toward* town.  Go roughly 1.25 miles north on S. Presa until you get to
Graf (I'm guessing there won't be a light or even a stop sign, so look
for it).  Take a left on Graf (there is the possibility that Graf will
be the first left you *can* take off S. Presa -- it is according to my
map, but it's a year or two old).  Graf will run into Ashley, which is
the road you need to get on.  Take a left (south) on Ashley which will
turn into Villamain.  You will cross some RR tracks on Graf, btw.  These
are the tracks you're interested in, and they parallel Villamain.  About
1/3 of a mile south of where Villamain crosses the 410 Loop, the road
will make a sharp left and cross the tracks.  This is the spot. 

My map does not show a service road beside 410 between S. Presa and
where Villamain crosses under 410. *If one exists,*  it's just a matter
of exiting 410 at S. Presa, getting on the service road going west for
a little over a mile, then taking a left onto Villamain.

There might be one other possibility:  The map is tough to read, but it
looks like you can take the  S. Presa exit off 410 and head west for a
short distance on a service road.  If I'm reading the map correctly, it
looks like Southton Rd. will intersect this service road just before you
would be forced to get back on 410 West (Or, alternately if you're
coming *from* the west, the first road you'd come to is Southton after
you exited 410 East.  I guess the exit could even be marked "Southton/S.
Presa" if way my map is drawn represents reality....).   Anyway, head
south on Southton (away from town).  The first road (to the right)
you'll come to is Laura Lee, and the second will be Shane.  Take a right
(west) on Shane and follow it for 3/4 of a mile.  You'll cross some
tracks.  This is the spot.

If the last directions are possible (why is it that the place you want
to look at on a map is always on the fold?), it looks like the easiest.


As I said a while back, I'll be out in San Antonio around New Year's,
and a trip to the tracks will definitely happen.  I'll make sure I take
a level, and I'll see if I can't get a video camera as well.  Perhaps a
still camera too.  Unless I can secure net access while I'm out
there, it'll be the 8th of January or so before I'm back here to post.
-- 
Tom Streeter                                |   streeter@cs.unca.edu
Dept. of Mass Communication                 |   704-251-6227
University of North Carolina at Asheville   |   Opinions expressed here are
Asheville, NC 28804                         |   mine alone.
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.ghost-stories