Austin and Northwestern Railroad began construction as a narrow gauge railroad from Austin west toward Llano, April 20, 1881. Construction reached Burnet in 1882. The line was converted to a standard gauge and on June 13, 1892, the first train rolled into Llano! Wilburn Oatman rode this very first train in to Llano as he returned from college for a vacation. He was shocked at Llano’s transformation due to the boom.