The Oklahoma-Southwestern Railway (“OSR”) ran between

Bristow, Oklahoma Bristow is a city in Creek County, Oklahoma, Creek County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 4,222 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, down 2.4 percent from the figure of 4,325 recorded in 2000 United States Census, 2000. Hist ...

and

Nuyaka, Oklahoma Nuyaka is a populated place in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma, United States. It is approximately south-southwest of Beggs and is west of the city of Okmulgee off SH-56. The Old Nuyaka Cemetery and the Nuyaka Mission site are southwest of town. T ...

. It operated from 1920 to 1930 before being abandoned.

History

Incorporated January 12, 1920 by legendary Oklahoma oilman T.B. Slick, the OSR was intended to service Oklahoma oilfields, and was originally projected to run about 50 miles from Bristow to Okmulgee, then an active refining center. Starting from a connection with the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway at Bristow and heading generally southeast, the line was built in 1920 through the Bristow oil field to

Slick, Oklahoma Slick is a town in Creek County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 131 at the 2010 census, an 11.5 percent decline from the figure of 148 recorded in 2000. History Slick began as an oil boom town in 1920, and was named for oilman Thoma ...

, about 12 miles, where a large depot was constructed to handle the crowds that flocked to Slick to "get rich from the gushing black gold." The line terminated in

in 1921, about another 11.9 miles, never reaching Okmulgee. The railroad also built two spurs northerly from the mainline, the Rock Creek spur extending into the

Continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continent, the major landmasses of Earth * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' ( ...

oil fields about 3.14 miles, and the Chicken Creek spur extending from a point near the town of Slick to the oil fields to its north, about 1.31 miles. Together with the 23.86-mile mainline, this put the total trackage of the OSR at 28.31 miles. The standard-gauge, steam operated railroad, while primarily a freight carrier, did have passenger operations. Three regular passenger trains ran daily in each direction between Bristow and Slick, and another operated daily between Slick and Nuyaka. But the good times were not to last. Production of oil began to decline in the latter part of 1923, and other methods of transportation, such as pipelines and motor vehicles, eventually took half the cargo the railway might have carried. The towns along the line consequently experienced a loss of population, with Slick going from a 1922 estimated population of 2500-3500 to 150 by the end of 1929, and Nuyaka dropping from about 600 to about 50 in the same period. By 1929, the railroad was losing money, and passenger service was down to one mixed train doing a round trip three times a week. Total passenger revenues for the first six months of 1929 were said to be $5.30. The Interstate Commerce Commission authorized abandonment of the line on December 21, 1929. Operations were suspended January 31, 1930, and the track was dismantled soon thereafter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oklahoma-Southwestern Railway Oklahoma railroads