Wyoming Central Railway was a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

. The railroad was incorporated in October 1885 and built a line from Chadron, Nebraska through

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...

Casper Casper may refer to: People * Casper (given name) * Casper (surname) * Casper (Maya ruler) (422–487?), ruler of the Mayan city of Palenque * Tok Casper, first known king of Maya city-state Quiriguá in Guatemala, ruling beginning in 426 * David ...

. The line was initially leased to the

Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad The Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad (FE&MV), sometimes called "the Elkhorn," was a railroad established in 1869 in the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. About The company constructed several lines in Nebraska, inclu ...

and the two railroads consolidated in 1891. The FE&MV was merged into

Chicago and North Western Transportation Company The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befo ...

in 1903 and the line was extended to Lander.

History

In 1885 the laws of the

Wyoming Territory The Territory of Wyoming was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 25, 1868, until July 10, 1890, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Wyoming. Cheyenne was the territorial capital. The bou ...

required railroads building or operating in the territory to be incorporated in the territory. In order to extend the line west from Nebraska, the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad incorporated Wyoming Central Railway as a dummy firm based in the town of Lusk which was laid out by the railroad in July 1886. Local landowner Frank S. Lusk was named as a director and only resident stockholder of the Wyoming Central company. The line was rapidly extended to the new town of

near the former location of Fort Fetterman. In 1887 the line was constructed to Glenrock. In June 1888 the railroad reached the future site of the town of

which was platted out by the railroad at the end of 1888. The town was named for nearby

Fort Caspar Fort Caspar was a military post of the United States Army in present-day Wyoming, named after 2nd Lieutenant Caspar Collins, a U.S. Army officer who was killed in the 1865 Battle of the Platte Bridge Station against the Lakota and Cheyenne. Found ...

which was an important stop on the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what is now the state of Kans ...

. The primary commodity on the line was coal, but other goods such as livestock were also transported. In his arguments to convince Union Pacific to build a line north out of

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

, territorial Governor Francis E. Warren estimated that Wyoming Central was shipping $300,000 worth of cattle east through

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

instead of Cheyenne. Eventually, the threat of Wyoming Central dominating northeastern Wyoming prompted Union Pacific to establish the Cheyenne and Northern Railway which attempted to reach Douglas first, but failed. The C&N eventually only extended as far as Wendover on the North Platte River. When

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...

took over the C&N in 1887 they extended it to tie into the Wyoming Central line at Orin Junction. From its inception the line was leased to the FE&MV and in 1891 the two railroads were consolidated under the FE&MV name. In 1903 the FE&MV merged with the Chicago and Northwestern railway. The C&NW eventually extended the line to

Shoshoni The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ) are a Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshone: southern Idaho * Western Shoshone: Nevada, northern Utah * Goshute: western Utah, east ...

and Riverton in 1905 and Lander in 1906. In 1943 the line west of Casper was abandoned and salvaged. When Union Pacific merged with the C&NW in 1995, UP announced its intention to abandon the portion of the line from Orin Junction to Casper.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wyoming Central Railway Defunct Wyoming railroads Railway companies established in 1886 Railway companies disestablished in 1891