has been interrupted by Amarillo International Airport. In Conway a portion of Route 66 from State Highway 207 (SH 207) to I-40 is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Conway is home to The Bug Farm (with five VW Beetles buried nose down) and a trading post; the Triangle Motel is being restored after years of resting closed, neglected and abandoned. In Groom, Texas a leaning water tower stands empty, originally placed as an advertisement for a truck stop which burned years ago. A large crucifix serves as a local landmark. In McLean the McLean Commercial Historic District includes one of the first Phillips Petroleum stations in Texas (1929, now restored). Also in McLean is the Devils Rope Barbed Wire Museum, the Avalon Theatre and the Cactus Inn Motel. Shamrock has restored the Tower Station and U-Drop Inn Café as a visitor centre; the Tower Station's distinctive architecture appears as Ramone's body shop in Cars. A Pioneer West Museum on two floors of the former Reynolds Hotel highlights a diversity of West Texas exhibits and the Route 66 Bridge over the Chicago, Rock Island and Gulf Railroad is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. History Before the U.S. Route system, this route was a system of interconnected highways from New Mexico to Oklahoma, considered a part of the Texas highway system from New Mexico to Amarillo and a portion of the Ozark Trails. In Amarillo, the Ozark route split off to a more southerly route, while general low-grade roads continued east. This entire route closely paralleled the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway. Most construction through the Panhandle was slow, and remained low-grade roads through most of the 1920s. In 1926, the United States Numbered Highway system was introduced, and the route across the Texas Panhandle was given the number of 66. It was designated along already created roads in the Texas highway network. Large portions of the highway remained earthen roads until the entire route was completely paved in 1938. A few realignments were made to the original route. A new routing on the east side of Amarillo was completed in 1959 to make way for the expansion of the Amarillo Air Force Base, while the rest of the route through Amarillo was rebuilt on the north side of downtown. Major intersections Special route Business US 66, a business loop in Amarillo, was the only