The Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad was a

railway company A railway company is a company within the rail industry. It can be a manufacturing firm or an operator. Some railway companies operate both the trains and the track, while, particularly in the European Union, operation of the track is undertaken ...

that began operations in the 1890s and owned a main-line between

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, and

Port Arthur, Texas Port Arthur is a city in Jefferson County within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area of the U.S. state of Texas. A small, uninhabited portion extends into Orange County; it is east of Houston. The largest oil refinery in the United Sta ...

. It was led by

Arthur Stilwell Arthur Edward Stilwell (October 21, 1859 – September 26, 1928) was the founder of the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad, predecessor to the Kansas City Southern Railway. He served as KCPG's president from 1897 to 1900. He was also t ...

before being thrown into receivership and eventually being absorbed by the

Kansas City Southern Railway The Kansas City Southern Railway Company is an American Class I railroad. Founded in 1887, it operates in 10 midwestern and southeastern U.S. states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and ...

in 1900. Trackage on the KCP&G was complete from Kansas City to

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...

as of March 2, 1897. By September 11 of that year, the line ran all the way to

– a town Stilwell essentially created and named after himself. However, the railroad was in financial trouble by 1899. On April 1st, 1900, the Kansas City Southern Railway took control of the KCP&G properties after purchasing them at a foreclosure sale in Joplin, Missouri. The section of the line within the boundaries of Louisiana was chartered as the Kansas City, Shreveport & Gulf Railway Company (KCS&G).

References

Predecessors of the Kansas City Southern Railway Defunct Arkansas railroads Defunct Missouri railroads Defunct Kansas railroads Railway companies established in 1893 Railway companies disestablished in 1900 Defunct Louisiana railroads Defunct Oklahoma railroads American companies established in 1893 American companies disestablished in 1900 {{US-rail-company-stub