Osage Railway

Last updated
Osage Railway
Overview
Locale Oklahoma
Dates of operation1922–1953
Technical
Track gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Length16 mi (26 km)

The Osage Railway was incorporated in 1921 to accommodate traffic from the oil fields located in the Osage Nation. [1] The first part of its mainline was constructed in 1922 from a connection with the Midland Valley Railroad at Foraker, Oklahoma, to the town of Shidler, Oklahoma, about 10 miles southwest. [2] [3] The line was independently owned from the Midland Valley, but was jointly operated with the Midland Valley and two other lines as part of the Muskogee Roads. [1] Beginning July 2, 1923 and completing in early 1924, the Osage Railway's trackage was extended northwesterly from Shidler through Webb City to Lyman, Oklahoma, about another 6 miles. [4] [5]

Oil production in the area began to decline in the late 1920s and the start of the Great Depression lowered demand and prices. [6] The railroad managed to survive for a time by prudent management, but the entire line was abandoned in 1953. [1] [2]

Osage Railroad

The Osage Railway should not be confused with the Osage Railroad (ORR). [7] That company, a unit of Watco, bought a 35-mile-long rail line between Tulsa and Barnsdall, Oklahoma from the Union Pacific (UP) in 1990. [8] That trackage had been built as part of the Midland Valley in 1905. [8] [9] It was included when the Midland Valley was acquired by a subsidiary of the Missouri Pacific Railroad in 1967, and became a UP line when the Missouri Pacific was merged into the UP in 1997. [10] [11] But Watco abandoned the line in 2000, [7] and at least part of the route subsequently became a multi-use rail trail. [7] [12]

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

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

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

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midland Valley Railroad</span>

The Midland Valley Railroad (MV) was a railroad company incorporated on June 4, 1903 for the purpose of building a line from Hope, Arkansas, through Muskogee and Tulsa, Oklahoma to Wichita, Kansas. It was backed by C. Jared Ingersoll, a Philadelphia industrialist who owned coal mining properties in Indian Territory. The railroad took its name from Midland, Arkansas, a coal mining town in western Arkansas, which was served by the railroad. The Midland Valley gained access to Fort Smith, Arkansas via trackage rights over the Frisco from Rock Island, Oklahoma.

The Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway (KO&G) was formed on July 31, 1919 from the assets of the bankrupt Missouri, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway. The KO&G largely consisted of a single line from Baxter Springs, Kansas, to Denison, Texas, prior to its purchase by Missouri Pacific's Texas and Pacific Railway in 1964 and merger in 1970.

The Oklahoma City – Ada – Atoka Railway (OCAA) was formed from trackage from Oklahoma City to Atoka via Shawnee, Ada, and Coalgate, Oklahoma. Atoka to Coalgate had been built between 1882 and 1886 as feeder to the old Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad (Katy) main line, and Coalgate-Shawnee-Oklahoma City had been constructed by Katy affiliates, and specifically the first 40 miles northwest out of Coalgate having been built by the Texas and Oklahoma Railroad in 1902. The remaining 78 miles into Oklahoma City were built in the 1903-1904 timeframe by that line’s successor, the Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad Company. These properties were not included in the 1923 reorganization of the Katy, and were put in the OCAA instead. The OCAA was sold to the Muskogee Company in 1929, becoming one of the Muskogee Roads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Kansas Railway</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad</span>

South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad is a short line railroad which operates 511 miles (822 km) of rail lines in Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri that used to belong to Missouri Pacific, Frisco and Santa Fe lines. SKOL is a unit of Watco. The present railroad was created in July 2000, when Watco merged one short line railroad, the Southeast Kansas Railroad (SEKR), with another short line, the South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad. SKOL was the surviving company.

The Muskogee Company, although a Philadelphia company, was founded in Delaware on February 27, 1923. The company officers were brothers C. Jared Ingersoll, industrialist, as president, and John H. W. Ingersoll, attorney and industrialist, as vice president and treasurer. The Muskogee Company owned large interests in several railroads in and about northeastern Oklahoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muskogee Roads</span>

The Muskogee Roads was the colloquial name for a system of railroads under common management operationally headquartered in Muskogee, Oklahoma and controlled by the Muskogee Company of Philadelphia. The Muskogee Roads were the only Class I railroads to be headquartered in Oklahoma and had a major impact on the development and livelihood of the region.

Lyman was a town in Osage County, Oklahoma, located about 20 miles northeast of Ponca City, Oklahoma, and 30 miles southeast of Winfield, Kansas, the two closest population centers. It became an oilfield boomtown shortly after the discovery of the Burbank field in 1920. It was named after A.J. Lyman, who platted the town and sold the lots.

The Muskogee Electric Traction Company (“Traction”) was an electrified streetcar line operating in and around Muskogee, Oklahoma from 1904 to 1941, with bus passenger service continuing under that name to 1958.

The Muskogee Southern Railroad, which existed from 1902 to 1904, constructed only one line in its history. It built south from Muskogee, Oklahoma to the Canadian River, a distance of approximately 37 miles.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Muskogee Company records, Part 1". The University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas Libraries. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Foraker". Jon D. May, Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Shidler". Jon D. May, Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Webb City". Jon D. May, Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Osage County, Oklahoma-Lyman". Geocaching. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  6. ↑ "History of the Osage". Sharon Hamilton, USGenWebArchives. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 "Osage Railroad 1000 leads a South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad train in the Moline, KS yard in July 1991". Watco, July 19, 2018 (accessed on Facebook). Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  8. 1 2 "Old rails may become trail". Curtis Killman, Tulsa World, December 28, 2000. 28 December 2000. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Midland Valley Railroad". Augustus J. Veenendaal, Jr., Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Missouri Pacific Railway". Augustus J. Veenendaal, Jr., Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Oklahoma 1989 Official State Railroad Map". Oklahoma Department of Transportation. 3 December 2009. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Osage Prairie Trail". Landplan Consultants. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
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