"The Lady" was a Tram LbNA #31848

The Big Thicket is littered with traces of rotted crossties and rights-of-way that were once the logging railroads, over which the various sawmills received their raw materials. One such short-line railroad was the CBN, or Conroe, Byspot and Northern. It reached from Conroe to the outskirts of Coldspring, by way of a sawmill community in southwestern San Jacinto County called Teddy, after the new hero of San Juan Hill, Theodore Roosevelt. The small railroad, known locally as “the Bennette Tram”, was built, starting in 1898, by J. O. H. Bennette to supply his sawmill which, by 1904 was cutting 35,000 feet of lumber per day. J. O. H. Bennette had two loves in his life: his wife, Topsy, and his tram. Since he virtually owned the town, and he loved his wife more than he loved Teddy Roosevelt, he changed its name to Byspot, which is his wife’s name (Topsy B.), spelled backwards. He even had her name painted on his steam engine and affectionately called it “The Lady”. Rumor has it that the train also pulled a passenger car and carried mail and passengers between Conroe and Coldspring, but there are no records to substantiate that. When available lumber ran out in 1931, the tram was abandoned and the rails and crossties were soon removed. Time has forgotten the little tram called The Conroe, Byspot and Northern, and Byspot became a ghost town. Topsy, long gone from our memory, was a grand lady, but everyone knows that “The Lady” was a Tram.

Driving directions: From Houston, go north on U. S. 59 to Cleveland. Take the Coldspring exit to FM 2025 and go north about 5 miles to FM 945. There is a Citgo station on your left. Turn left and go 1.2 miles. On the way, you will cross the San Jacinto River. The road will “S” curve, first to the left, then to the right. When you pass Shaw Road on the left, look for the trail markers for the Lone Star Trail. There is no parking let here, but you can pull off the road to the right and there is adequate parking room.

Directions to the box:
If you parked on the right, stay on this side of the highway and enter the trail at the maker sign. The trail is clearly defined and is an easy walk. Notice, as you walk, that the trail is straight and elevated. You are walking on the old rail bed of the Conroe, Byspot and Northern tramway, where “The Lady” once hauled her loads of lumber. When you come to a footbridge, start counting your steps. When you reach 85, you should see a metal trail marker, on a large pine tree in front of you, indicating that the trail goes left, off the trail bed. Instead of turning, take 5 more steps past the marked tree and look for two smaller trees close together on the right. One is a willow oak and the other a magnolia. The Lady lies between the two.

While you're on this trail, look for Fish Tree's letterboxes "Saint Hyacinth" and "Wishin' I Was Fishin'"