Chartered on June 6, 1903, the St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico Railway (also known as the Brownie) was a 200 mile (321 km) railroad that operated from Brownsville, Texas to Gulf Coast Junction in Houston, Texas. It served numerous towns and cities along its routes and operated a rail bridge south of Laredo, Texas, in junction with the Mexican government. The Brownie connected the citizens of Brownsville to nearby Corpus Christi for the first time on land rather than using water transportation.