Beaver, Meade and Englewood Railroad

Last updated
Beaver, Meade and Englewood Railroad
Overview
HeadquartersBeaver, Oklahoma
Locale Oklahoma
Dates of operation1912–1972
Technical
Track gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Length105 mi (169 km)

The Beaver, Meade and Englewood Railroad (BM&E) extended from Beaver, Oklahoma to Keyes, Oklahoma in the Oklahoma Panhandle, about 105 miles. It was chartered in 1912, and abandoned in 1972.

Contents

History

The BM&E started as an effort by the citizens of Beaver, Oklahoma to ensure survival of their town by getting it connected to the railroad grid. [1] It was initiated at a town meeting on December 28, 1911, after the Wichita Falls and Northwestern Railway (WF&NW), a subsidiary of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (MKT), declined to build to their locale. [1] Formally incorporated January 19, 1912, the railroad's ultimate goal was to create two trunk lines, one running north-northwest to Meade, Kansas to connect to the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P), and the other running east-northeast to Englewood, Kansas to connect to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (AT&SF). [1] [2] [3] However, the minimum goal was to run north to Forgan, Oklahoma, to at least connect with the WF&NW, which had run a line into Forgan from Altus, Oklahoma. [1] [4] Having little capitalization of its own, unable to talk other railways into financing the effort, and prevented from issuing railroad bonds by Oklahoma law, the town took unorthodox paths to get it built. The town passed bonds for a light and water plant, and simply used the proceeds to help fund the railroad. [1] And, the town tried to interest farmers along the route in grading the right-of-way for the line, but this effort was less successful the further the line got from Beaver. [1] Making little progress, the railroad was eventually sold to Jacob A. Achenbach, a 69-year-old railroad builder who had already made a small fortune, and his partner Ira B. Blackstock. [1] The partners completed the line into Forgan in 1915, about 6.6 miles with an additional .8 of a mile in yard tracks and sidings. [1] [2]

Progress on connection to the towns of Meade or Englewood was stymied by World War I; and eventually, the partners discarded those goals and decided to build west, further into the Oklahoma Panhandle, to take advantage of the booming wheat industry there. [1] [5] Approval to run the 39.2 miles from Forgan to Hooker—a town on the CRI&P line—was granted January 29, 1924, but obstruction by another railroad and other factors prevented placing the line in full service until December 31, 1927. [1] The partners subsequently proposed extending the line much further to the west, all the way to Des Moines, New Mexico, in order to both traverse more wheat-growing lands and to facilitate movement of New Mexico coal to Oklahoma. [1] But permission was granted to build only as far as Keyes, Oklahoma, [1] which had a connection to the AT&SF. [6] The BM&E reached Mouser in the summer of 1928, Hough the following summer, Eva before the end of 1930, and Keyes on June 25, 1931, giving the railroad approximately 105 miles of total track. [1] [7]

At this point both the CRI&P and the MKT became interested in buying the line, and following jockeying between the two, the BM&E became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the MKT on July 1, 1931. [1] [8] The BM&E continued to exist in this manner until the whole line was abandoned on August 30, 1972. [9]

Legacy

Beaver survived as a town. [9] Several other towns formed along the BM&E track, including Hough, Baker, and Straight. [10]

The Baker Woodframe Elevator, [11] the separate Baker Woodframe Grain Elevator, [12] the Eva Woodframe Grain Elevator, [13] the Hooker Woodframe Grain Elevator, [14] the Hough Woodframe Elevator, [15] the Mouser Grain Elevator, [16] the separate Mouser Woodframe Grain Elevator/Collingwood Elevator, [17] and the Tracey Woodframe Grain Elevator, [18] were all located on the BM&E's line and are now on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Texas County, Oklahoma. Similarly, the Floris Grain Elevator, [19] as well as the Turpin Grain Elevator, [20] were on the BM&E's line and are now on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Beaver County, Oklahoma.

The passenger railroad station originally built by the BM&E remains in Eva. [21]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forgan, Oklahoma</span> Town in Oklahoma, United States

Forgan is a town in Beaver County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town’s population was 450.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hooker, Oklahoma</span> City in Oklahoma, United States

Hooker is a city in Texas County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city’s population was 1,802. It is located approximately 20 miles northeast of Guymon on US Route 54 highway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turpin, Oklahoma</span> Census-designated place in Oklahoma, United States

Turpin is a small unincorporated community and census-designated place in Beaver County, Oklahoma, United States. The post office was established April 8, 1925. The population was 442 at the time of the 2020 census.

Adams is an unincorporated community in eastern Texas County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 148 at the time of the 2020 census. It is approximately 20 miles (32 km) east-northeast of the county seat, Guymon. The community is six miles north-northeast of Optima Lake.

Hough is a small unincorporated rural community in Texas County, Oklahoma, United States, north-northwest of Guymon. The population was 20 at the time of the 2020 census.

Baker is an unincorporated community in northeastern Texas County, Oklahoma, United States, ¼ mile north of U.S. Route 64. Tyrone lies six miles to the north-northwest on U.S. Route 54 and Turpin lies eight miles to the east at the intersection of Route 64 and U.S. Route 83 in adjacent Beaver County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eva, Oklahoma</span> Unincorporated community in Oklahoma, United States

Eva is an unincorporated community in Texas County, Oklahoma, United States. It is located along State Highway 95, approximately two miles north of U.S. Route 412.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Floris, Oklahoma</span> Unincorporated community in Oklahoma, United States

Floris is an unincorporated community in northwest Beaver County, Oklahoma, United States.

Mouser is an unincorporated community in Texas County, Oklahoma, United States. Mouser is 13.5 miles (21.7 km) north-northeast of Guymon and 11 miles (18 km) west of Hooker. The community of Straight is two miles to the west. The Beaver, Meade and Englewood Railroad (BM&E) reached the locale in the summer of 1928, and two grain elevators in Mouser, the Mouser Grain Elevator and the Mouser Woodframe Grain Elevator/Collingwood Elevator, which were built along the BM&E's tracks, are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Texas County, Oklahoma.

Muncy is an unincorporated community in Texas County, Oklahoma, United States. Tracy is 18.2 miles (29.3 km) west-northwest of Guymon.

The Tracy Woodframe Grain Elevator was a grain elevator in Muncy, Oklahoma. The elevator was built in 1931 along the Beaver, Mead & Englewood Railroad, the same year Tracy was founded. The elevator operated continuously from its opening until around 1983, outlasting the railroad only a mere 10 years after the last train left eastbound in 1972. On May 13, 1983, the elevator was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The elevator has fallen down. All that remains is a scalehouse that was possibly remnant of a depot for the railroad.

The Adams Woodframe Grain Elevator is a grain elevator in Adams, Oklahoma. The elevator was built in 1926, the same year the community of Adams was established by the Tex-Co Grain Company. The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad opened a line past the grain elevator in 1929, which linked Amarillo, Texas to Liberal, Kansas. The elevator has mainly held wheat, the primary crop in the area, and operated continuously from its opening to at least 1983. The grain was shipped by railroad from Adams to markets in either Fort Worth, Texas or Galveston, Texas On May 13, 1983, the elevator was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It was burned down around August 22, 2018 because of safety issues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hooker Woodframe Grain Elevator</span> United States historic place

The Hooker Woodframe Grain Elevator is a grain elevator in Hooker, Oklahoma. The elevator was built in 1926 by the Riffe & Gilmore Co. and operated by the Wheat Pool Elevator Company. Located along the Beaver, Meade and Englewood Railroad, which ran from the east at Beaver, Oklahoma to the west at Keyes, Oklahoma, the elevator served the local wheat industry. It was one of several built to compete with the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad elevators in the region. The elevator was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 13, 1983 and is one of two National Register of Historic Places listings in Texas County, Oklahoma located around Hooker.

The Baker Woodframe Elevator was a historic grain elevator in Baker, Oklahoma. The wood frame elevator was built for the Kimber Milling Company in 1926. The elevator was located at the intersection of the Chicago Rock Island and Pacific and the Beaver, Meade and Englewood. The railroad shipped wheat harvested in Baker to the Gulf Coast. The elevator operated until 1974, when the railroads ended their service to Baker. No remains of this elevator are evident. It existed just north of another elevator built in the 1970s that still remains.

The Baker Woodframe Grain Elevator is a historic grain elevator in Baker, Oklahoma. The wood frame elevator was built in 1926 along the Beaver, Meade and Englewood Railroad by the Riffe & Gilmore Company. The elevator operated continuously from its opening until the early 1980s. Modern grain trucks proved to be too large for it in the mid 80's. Additional construction of steel bins to the west were added making the elevator an overflow storage. Over the years it has ceased operations yielding to the steel bins around it. The Riffe Gilmore location does still operate to this day, being one of very few still operating under the name, nearing 100 years of continued operations.

Straight is an unincorporated community in Texas County in the Oklahoma Panhandle, United States.

The Floris Grain Elevator, located off U.S. Route 64 in Floris, Oklahoma, was built in 1900 or 1926.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knowles Grain Elevator</span> United States historic place

The Knowles Grain Elevator, located on U.S. Route 64 in Knowles, Oklahoma, was built in 1913. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

The Turpin Grain Elevator, located off U.S. Route 64 in Turpin, Oklahoma, was built in 1925. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

The Wichita Falls and Northwestern Railway, its affiliate the Northwestern Railway Company of Texas, and two subsidiaries collectively constructed a railway running from Wichita Falls, Texas through Altus, Oklahoma to Forgan, Oklahoma, with a branch running from Altus to Wellington, Texas. The network comprised 359.3 miles of track, and was collectively known as the Wichita Falls Route.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Construction Strategies of Railroads in the Oklahoma Panhandle". Donovan L. Hofsommer, Chronicles of Oklahoma, Vol. 58, No 1, Spring 1980, pp. 82-89. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Beaver, Meade & Englewood Railroad" (PDF). Labellemodels.com. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Beaver, Oklahoma". Google Maps. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Wichita Falls and Northwestern Railway". Donovan L. Hofsommer, Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Hooker, Oklahoma". Google Maps. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Keyes". Norma Gene Young, Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, "the Katy"". American-Rails.com. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Beaver, Meade & Englewood Railroad Company Control". 1931. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  9. 1 2 "The Beaver, Meade and Englewood Railroad". AbandonedRails.com. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Texas County". Dianna Everett, Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  11. ↑ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form, Baker Wood-frame Elevator". United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  12. ↑ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form, Baker Wood-frame Grain Elevator". United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  13. ↑ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form, Eva Wood-frame Grain Elevator". United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  14. ↑ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form, Hooker Wood-frame grain elevator". United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  15. ↑ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form, Hough Wood-frame Elevator". United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  16. ↑ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form, Mouser Grain Elevator". United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  17. ↑ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form, Mouser Wood-frame Grain Elevator". United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  18. ↑ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form, Tracey Wood-frame Grain Elevator". United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  19. ↑ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form, Floris Grain Elevator". United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  20. ↑ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Turpin Grain Elevator". National Park Service. 1982. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  21. ↑ "Surviving Oklahoma Railroad Stations" (PDF). American-Rails.com. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
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