Okmulgee Northern Railway

Last updated
Okmulgee Northern Railway
Overview
Headquarters Okmulgee, Oklahoma
Reporting mark ON
Locale Oklahoma
Dates of operation1916–1964
Technical
Track gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length12.041 miles (19.378 km)

The Okmulgee Northern Railway Company (ON), originally the Coalton Railway, was a shortline rail carrier in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma. It was in operation from 1916 to 1964. [1]

Contents

History

The line was chartered December 15, 1915 under Oklahoma law, and completed October 8, 1916. [2] A snapshot of the company as of June 30, 1919 shows it with its headquarters in the city of Okmulgee, 1.710 miles of yard tracks and sidings, plus a single-track, standard-gauge mainline of 10.331 miles extending south from Okmulgee into the Deep Fork area. [2] The line traversed gently rolling terrain, with only one metal bridge which featured a 166-foot through-truss span on two pile piers. [2] From Deep Fork, the company had overhead trackage rights on 11.6 miles of the Missouri, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway Company—later reorganized as the Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway (KO&G)-- to Henryetta, Oklahoma, limited to passenger operations. [2] [3] The line, primarily a freight-hauler, had one steam locomotive and only owned three passenger cars. [2] The company interchanged with the KO&G at Deep Fork, and with the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway (Frisco) at Okmulgee. [2] The company was valued by the Interstate Commerce Commission as of 1919 at $321,000 for rate-making purposes. [2]

The line ran south from Okmulgee along the Deep Fork River carrying coal out of the Dewar, Coalton and Schulter producing areas. [1] The Thirty-sixth annual report of the Department of Mines and Minerals from 1943 shows combined production by coal companies in Coalton and Dewar of over 30,000 tons annually. [4] Production peaked in the Henryetta mining area in 1948, with numbers of mines shutting down thereafter. [5]

The ICC authorized abandonment of ON's entire line on May 18, 1964, and the railroad ceased operations on June 27, 1964. [6] All assets were sold to the Frisco. [6]

Legacy

One mile of the railroad's old right-of-way is now incorporated in the Railroad Trail and River Overlook at the Deep Fork National Wildlife Refuge. [1] [7]

One of the ON's former steam locomotives is on static display at the Belton, Grandview and Kansas City Railroad, a museum and heritage railroad in Belton, Missouri. [8] [9] Built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) Cooke facility in 1923, the engine is a 2-8-0 Consolidation. [9] Due to be sold to Cuba after construction, it was stored for many years after the order was cancelled, and ended up being sold to the ON in 1933. [9] Numbered as engine #5 and nicknamed “Tommy,” it was retired from service in 1958. [1]

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Coalton is a populated place in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma. It is less than 11 miles south of the City of Okmulgee, and just east of US Route 62/US Route 75. In the Henryetta Coal Formation coal-mining region and an oil-producing area, the town in its heyday had its own newspaper, The Coalton Enterprise, and was along the route of the shortline Coalton Railway, later called the Okmulgee Northern Railway, which operated from Okmulgee south along the Deep Fork River carrying the coal out of the Coalton, Schulter and Dewar producing areas from 1916 to 1964. The Thirty-sixth annual report of the Department of Mines and Minerals from 1943 shows production by two coal companies in Coalton—Coalton Coal Company and Davis Coal Company—of almost 17,000 tons annually.

Kusa is a populated place located in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma, about 4 miles east-northeast of Henryetta. Officially incorporated March 27th, 1916, and located in the Henryetta Coal Mining District, Kusa became a coal mining and lead smelting boomtown, complete with movie theaters, hotels, and banks. It even had its own newspaper, The Kusa Industrial, which published between 1914 and 1920. The population grew to a size of about 3,500, making it the largest town in the county at one point.

The Miami Mineral Belt Railroad (MMBR) served the Miami and Picher lead mining areas in that portion of the Tri-state mining district located in far northeastern Oklahoma. It was closely associated with the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway (Frisco) for its entire history, and was eventually absorbed into the Frisco.

The Ozark and Cherokee Central Railway (O&CC) was formed under the name of the North Arkansas & Western Railway in 1899. At its maximum, it owned a standard gauge, single track line running between Fayetteville, Arkansas and Okmulgee, Oklahoma. Its assets were merged into the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway (Frisco) in 1907.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Refuge Racoon's Words on Wildlife, I Hear the Train A'Coming" (PDF). Henryetta Free-Lance, January 26, 2018 (accessed on eTypes Archives). Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Valuation Docket No. 829, Okmulgee Northern Railway Company, pp. 186-209". 1930. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Dewar". Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Thirty-sixth annual report of the Department of Mines and Minerals, 1943, page 15". Oklahoma Digital Prairie. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Geology and Coal Resources of the Henryetta Mining District, Okmulgee County, Oklahoma, pp. 203-212" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Letter of General Counsel re: Okmulgee Northern Railway Company, Cessation of employer status" (PDF). GovInfo.gov. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  7. ↑ "In the Community". Deep Fork National Wildlife Refuge. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Homepage". Belton, Grandview and Kansas City Railroad. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  9. 1 2 3 "Locomotives". Belton, Grandview and Kansas City Railroad. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
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