Circling Around Dallas County:
A Trip Along Belt Line Road
Some roads scream to be traveled, like the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway or California Highway 101. Other
roads are more subtle in their allures, but when taken, their beauty unfurls with heady abandon. And then there
are roads like Belt Line.

Two years ago, I drove the entire Belt Line Road that circles around Dallas County, and I did it again this past
month. why I'd do such a thing is not an easy question to answer. Belt Line simply passes through almost all of
Dallas' inner ring suburbs, though mostly not through their downtowns. It's a highway that doesn't lend itself to
speeding, what with all the stoplights, twists and bends. And only in the southern part can it be considered
somewhat scenic.

But, while it's not a pretty road or even a charming one, Belt Line Road does have a certain kind of - well, pull.
Of course, that attraction stems from its short but fairly interesting history. The "Belt Line" was originally
proposed as a railroad that would link Dallas to the Cotton Belt (St. Louis Southwestern Railway), which had
bypassed Dallas and built into Fort Worth instead. The company that attempted the project, the Dallas Terminal
Railway, fell far short of its goal, with only four miles of the belt railway completed by the early 1900s. Then, Belt
Line Road became one of the manifestations of the Kessler Plan, Dallas' earliest attempts at city planning. In
this plan, published in 1909 and followed haphazardly for almost one hundred years, George Kessler
recommended that the railroads lines that zig-zagged all through the center of the city be placed outside the
city, and surrounding communities would be connected through a common belt line. However, the railroads
balked at sharing tracks with their competition. Dallas County carved the new road, and while the rails did not
follow, cars certainly did. Belt Line became Dallas' first loop highway, and still serves the metro area as a major
traffic artery.

So let's see the sights along Belt Line Road! Okay, maybe not "sights" but rather "things to acknowledge."
0 miles - Coppell
I started in Coppell, where Denton Tap Road (a
railroad "tap" into the proposed Belt Line) meets Belt
Line Road. In this affluent bedroom community, Belt
Line Road travels straight south, past new strip
malls, office parks, and a Dairy Queen. Belt Line
Road bisects Bethel School Road, one of Coppell's
few references to its country past.

5 miles - DFW Airport
After Belt Line crosses over Texas 114 (also called
John Carpenter Freeway), the road marks the eastern
boundary of the Dallas Fort Worth Airport. Stands of
trees and no trespassing signs make this a "friendly
" place to stay away from.

8 miles - Irving
Belt Line slithers through many strip malls, apartment
buildings, restaurants, and convenience stores
before passing Irving Mall at the intersection with TX
183. Irving is a child of the railroad and its
downtown showcases that, though Belt Line Road
does not go through the city's center.

9 miles - Sowers
While still technically Irving, the old farming community
of Sowers once witnessed an ambush on Bonnie
and Clyde by the Dallas Sheriff Department on nearby
Esters Road.
16 miles - Grand Prairie
The first place you'll encounter once you enter Grand
Prairie is the horse racing venue Lone Star Park.
Further south on Belt Line, you can enjoy the weirdness of
Ripley's Believe it or Not! and a wax museum.
An outdoor safari park once existed behind these two
attractions.

Belt Line Road crosses over old US 80 (Main Street) in
Grand Prairie. Grand Prairie gets its name from
the wide swaths of open grass land that used to surround
it before "civilization" obliterated this unique
landscape.

24 miles - Cedar Hill State Park
You'd be surprised at how pretty Dallas County upon
seeing the hills that surround Cedar Hill State Park.
Though the park centers around a man-made lake, swaths
of native tall grass prairie hint at what the area
used to look like.

28 miles - Cedar Hill
Cedar Hill is one of the oldest settlements in Dallas
County, and grew with the arrival of the railroad
in the 1880s. One of the largest fossils in the state was
found in Cedar Hill.

In Cedar Hill, Belt Line takes a turn to the east as it merges
with FM 1382.
32 miles - DeSoto
If it weren't for a sign displaying "DeSoto Independent School District" at a middle school, you'd never know that you were
in DeSoto. That's not to say DeSoto isn't interesting... it's just that Belt Line Road bypasses the town's center. DeSoto
may be named after an early resident, Dr. Thomas Hernando De Soto Stewart, but with an odd name like that, someone
may just be pulling my leg.

39 miles - Lancaster
It's in Lancaster where Belt Line Road passes through a much more rural landscape. Proud, two-story, four square
homes that occasionally hug the road hark back to the town's farming roots. Belt Line intersects with the tracks for the
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, which reach the gin in downtown Lancaster.

In the summer, the acres of blackland prairie that surround Lancaster are dotted with cotton.

43 miles - Wilmer
The cotton industry defined Wilmer, which grew up around the Houston and Texas Central Railroad. Today, Wilmer is a
small community near the Ellis County Line. Belt Line Road comes close to the city's small downtown.

East of Wilmer, Belt Line Road crosses over the Trinity River and its immense flood plain. If you look north onto the
Trinity River, you can see a ruined lock that was built in the early 20th century in the hopes to open the river to barge
traffic. Making the Trinity River navigable was also part of Kessler's Plan, which included building levees to thwart future
flooding.

Signs along the reeds in the river bottoms warn of alligators. Large reptiles that can chew off your arm, along with the
many junk yards that hug the road, makes this portion of Belt Line Road quite memorable.  

51 miles - Kleberg
Kleberg is an older settlement that blossomed with the arrival of the railroads. That connection is evident at the junction
of Belt Line and Kleberg Roads, where an old railroad crossing signal still stands near a now non-existent right-of-way.

54 miles - Seagoville & Balch Springs
Belt Line Road cuts through Seagoville and Balch Springs without nary a glance. Not much to see here. However, keep
your eyes open for the road signs that delineate Belt Line Road - the road makes a sharp move to the north.

60 miles - Mesquite
Like all towns in Dallas County, Mesquite thrived on cotton and railroads. A number of outlaws took advantage of that
fact, too.  Belle Starr lived in nearby Scyene, and none other than Sam Bass held up a Texas & Pacific train, making off
with $30,000. You'd think with that kind of money, he'd have been able to retire. Instead, Sam kept on thwarting the law
until one day in Round Rock, Texas he succumbed to an ambush posse while on his way to rob a bank.

Belt Line Road cuts through downtown Mesquite. Nearby on Barnes Ridge Road is the Florence Ranch Homestead, an
outdoor heritage museum. Another interesting place is the Opal Lawrence Historical Park on Kearny Street, which
centers around a sprawling home from the 1870s.
71 miles - Garland
Once you drive under the Interstate 30 bridge, Belt Line
Road will be known as Broadway. But that's not the only
name changes you'll need t know in Garland! Broadway
merges into North 1st Street, and the road becomes Belt Line
again once it enters Richardson. The different names
probably come from roads that existed before Belt Line was
built; either that, or Garland just likes to confuse people.

Garland began as two farming towns along Duck Creek that
merged together to take advantage of the railroads that
steamed through both towns. In the early 20th
century,citizens bought their own generator and thus created
Garland Power & Light Company, one of the first
cooperatives utilities in the state. The company is still
growing today.

78 miles - Richardson
In Richardson, Belt Line turns to a westerly direction.

Founded by the Houston & Texas Central Railroad,
Richardson grew from a cotton shipping point to become
the home of the Telecom Corridor, Texas' own Silicon Valley.

Belt Line Road runs right through downtown Richardson. The
many international restaurants -Mediterranean, Korean, and
Chinese - attest to the demographic diversity of this town at
the forefront of the Information Age.

After crossing under US 75, Belt Line passes through affluent
residential areas.
85 miles - Addison
Addison's yet another town that developed courtesy of the railroads. Today, it's a lively restaurant and
entertainment area. The Cavanaugh Flight Museum, located at the Addison airport just north of Belt Line Road, is
worth an extended visit.

88 miles - Carrollton
The further you drive west on Belt Line, the more industrial and aged the scenery becomes until finally, you reach
downtown Carrollton. Neat as a pin, Carrollton grew up with the railroads and still hosts a major interconnecting
switching yard just to the north of Belt Line Road. No less than four tracks cross Belt Line, so take caution as you
make your way through downtown. Soon, the new Denton County light rail will add another line.

Here's where Belt Line Road lives up to its original purpose. The tracks of the Fort Worth & Dallas Belt Railroad
(formerly Cotton Belt tracks) parallel the road as you make your way west from Carrollton into Coppell.

94 miles - Coppell
Follow Belt Line Road until it meets up with Denton Tap again. Voila! You made a circle around Dallas! Now you can
impress your friends and family.

The Belt Line was a great idea that never quite got off the ground. That doesn't mean it wasn't successful - it simply
became an industrial loop that relies on trucks, not locomotives. It's not necessarily a drive I'd recommend, but it
could be worse... I could have taken Interstate 635 all the way around Dallas!
Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie.
A lonely tree in the cedar brakes
Cedar Hill is the most picturesque city along Belt Line
Road. Psst - don't tell the others.
An old railroad crossing mechanism on Belt Line
Road is a true relic. Its sister on the other side of
the street has been taken down. I wonder what will
happen to this one?
Belt Line Road is all about the railroads. The New England Central #
3859, currently located in the yards at Carrollton, is a switcher used by
the Dallas, Garland & Northeastern Railroad.