Construction difficulties delayed westward progress, until American financier Jay Gould acquired an interest in the railroad in 1879.

The T&P never reached San Diego; instead it met the Southern Pacific at Sierra Blanca, Texas, in 1881.

In 2001, the passenger platforms at the T&P station were put into use for the first time in decades as the westernmost terminus for the Trinity Railway Express, a commuter rail line connecting Fort Worth and Dallas.

The T&P Warehouse still exists, but remains vacant with no plans to renovate it despite significant civic support and third-party developer interest.

The State of Texas did not award the additional area because, it said, the construction had not been completed within the time required by the firm's charter.

[citation needed] The Texas Pacific Land Trust (NYSE: TPL) was created in 1888 in the wake of the bankruptcy of the T&P in order to provide an efficient and orderly way to sell the railway's land, receiving at the time in excess of 3.5 million acres (14,000 km2).