Oklahoma Railway Company

Last updated
Oklahoma Railway Company
Overview
Headquarters Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
LocaleOklahoma, United States of America
Dates of operation1904–1947
Technical
Track gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification 600 V DC
Length74 miles [119 km] (interurban routes) [1]

The Oklahoma Railway Company (ORy) operated interurban lines to El Reno, Guthrie, and Norman, and several streetcar lines in Oklahoma City and the surrounding area from 1904 to 1947. [2]

Contents

Origins

ORy was incorporated in Oklahoma on June 14, 1904, under the name of the Oklahoma City Railway, and did not change its name until 1907. [3] On July 1, 1904, ORy obtained all the properties of the 1902 Oklahoma City street railway firm Metropolitan Railway Company, consisting of about 4 miles of track. [4] It continued building the OKC trolley network until 1931; the length varied, but at one point was about 28.7 miles. [3] It also constructed interurban lines to other localities. [3] In 1909 it built 3.1 miles from OKC to Britton, Oklahoma; in 1910 it built 5.6 miles from OKC to Moore, Oklahoma; in 1911 it constructed 7.0 miles from Britton on to Edmond, Oklahoma; in 1913 it constructed 9.0 miles from Moore on to Norman, Oklahoma; and, in 1916 it built 16.0 miles from Edmund on to Guthrie, Oklahoma. [3]

El Reno Interurban Company

El Reno’s trolley system started out in 1902 at a mere two miles, served by a single gasoline-powered railcar. [5] However, things changed after the El Reno Interurban Company (“ERI”) was incorporated on July 2, 1908. [5] Obtaining the earlier city trolley line, the ERI electrified it in December 1908. [5] But the ERI had a bigger horizon: it constructed a line between El Reno and OKC, building the first 13 miles in 1909 from OKC to Yukon, Oklahoma, and finishing in 1911 with 12.4 miles from Yukon to El Reno. [5] ORy bought the ERI on August 1, 1911, and ERI’s separate identity was quickly phased out. [5] On December 3, 1911, ORy began running between El Reno and Oklahoma City every hour, while maintaining the El Reno street trolleys as one every half hour. [5]

Oklahoma City Junction Railway

An independent entity called the Oklahoma City Junction Railway was incorporated in Oklahoma on June 10, 1909. [3] [6] Its primary purpose was to operate a terminal (principally consisting of stock pens) in the stockyards district of OKC, but the project included 1.724 miles of mainline and 3.779 miles of yardtracks and sidings, and was built between April and October of 1910. [6] It was operated with equipment and forces of other railways, e.g. the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway (“Frisco”) ran it from date of completion to March 31, 1917. [6] It interchanged with the Frisco, and later the Oklahoma Belt Railroad. [6] On May 1, 1929, all of its assets were leased to ORy. [3]

Oklahoma Belt Railroad

Separately, the Oklahoma Belt Railroad (“OBR”) was incorporated January 11, 1917, with its main office in Oklahoma City. [7] [8] Between February and August of that year, construction was done on its behalf of 3.848 miles of main tracks plus 1.010 miles of yard tracks and sidings for 4.858 miles total, to provide switching and terminal services between the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad (“Katy”) terminal and the Oklahoma City stockyards. [7] [8] The construction was actually done by the Katy, and the OBR trackage was both leased to and operated by the Katy from its first day. [8] The OBR line was later leased to ORy on April 20, 1928, eff May 1, 1929, as part of ORy’s push to de-emphasize passengers and develop a more serious carload freight business. [7] [9] The ORy subsequently became the OBR’s sole owner. [7] But all ORy freight operations were discontinued August 16, 1944. [10]

Demise

As the 1920’s brought more competition from automobiles, ORy entered receivership in December 1924. [3] It emerged from that in December 1927, only to land in receivership again in September of 1939, when it was handed off to the Federal government to run. [3] [4] A resurgence was brought on by the transportation needs of World War II, but revenues plummeted thereafter. [4] New owners arriving in 1945 quickly put an end to things. [4] For instance, the OKC-El Reno route was abandoned in November of 1946. [4] By 1947, the trains had all been sold to Mexico and the other assets disposed of. [4]

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References

  1. ↑ "The Official Guide to the Railways". September 1934. Archived from the original (JPG) on October 24, 2004. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  2. ↑ Kim K. Bender (1994). "Oklahoma City's First Mass Transit System" (PDF). The Chronicles of Oklahoma. 72 (2). Oklahoma Historical Society: 139–159. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Oklahoma Railway Company". Railroads of Oklahoma, June 6, 1870-April 1, 1978, pp. 58-60 (accessed on Oklahoma DigitalPrairie). Retrieved September 28, 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Oklahoma City wasn't always married to the car". Mike Coppock, Oklahoma Gazette, November 13, 2008. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Chandler, Allison (1980). When Oklahoma Took the Trolley. Interurbans. p. 51-54. ISBN   0-916374-35-1.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Valuation Docket No. 869, Oklahoma City Junction Railway Company". 1929. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Oklahoma Belt Railroad Company". Railroads of Oklahoma, June 6, 1870-April 1, 1978 (accessed on Oklahoma DigitalPrairie). Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 "Valuation Docket No. 828, Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Company et al". 1931. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Interurbans, Classic American Streetcars". American-Rails.com. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Oklahoma Railway Company" (PDF). Railroad Retirement Board (accessed on GovInfo.gov). Retrieved April 2, 2023.
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