The Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway (“KO&G”) had at its height 310.5 miles of track from

Denison, Texas Denison is a city in Grayson County, Texas, United States, south of the Texas–Oklahoma border. Its population was 24,479 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 22,682 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Denison is pa ...

through Oklahoma to

Baxter Springs, Kansas Baxter Springs is a city in Cherokee County, Kansas, United States, and located along Spring River. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,888. History Indigenous settlement For thousands of years, indigenous peoples ...

. Its various predecessor companies built the line between 1904 and 1913. The railroad was consolidated into a

Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad o ...

subsidiary—the

Texas and Pacific Railway The Texas and Pacific Railway Company (known as the T&P) was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California. However its lines never went we ...

—in 1963.

History

Muskogee Union Railway

The Muskogee Union Railway was incorporated under the laws of

Oklahoma Territory The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as ...

on May 26, 1903. It built two segments in the 1903-1904 timeframe: a line from

Wagoner, Oklahoma Wagoner is a city in Wagoner County, Oklahoma, Wagoner County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 8,323 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census,CensusViewer: Population of the City of Wagoner, Oklahoma. Retrieved March 16, 201/ref> ...

Okay, Oklahoma Okay is a town along the east bank of the Verdigris River in Wagoner County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 620 at the 2010 census, a 3.9 percent increase over the figure of 597 recorded in 2000. Etymology and history Okay's histo ...

(8.3 miles), and Okay to a point known as Muskogee Junction, about 1.4 miles from

Muskogee, Oklahoma Muskogee () is the 13th-largest city in Oklahoma and is the county seat of Muskogee County, Oklahoma, Muskogee County. Home to Bacone College, it lies approximately southeast of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tulsa. The population of the city was 36,878 as of ...

Muskogee Bridge Company

Muscogee Bridge Company was incorporated under laws of the Territory of Oklahoma on June 16, 1903. Its contribution to the overall effort was construction of bridges over the Verdigris River and the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in Colorado, specifically ...

, both of which had to be crossed between Okay and Muskogee. This company was sold to Muskogee Union Railway on July 20, 1904.

Missouri, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway

The Missouri, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway was incorporated under laws of the Oklahoma Territory on October 24, 1904. The Muskogee Union Railway was sold to this entity on October 29, 1904. This entity then built the remaining trackage between the Red River on the Texas border and Wagoner.

Missouri, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway Company of Texas

The Missouri, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway Company of Texas was chartered under Texas law on March 28, 1910. This company constructed the Texas end of the line, including nearly nine miles of track from the Red River near Carpenter's Bluff into Denison, as well as terminal trackage at Denison. This company changed its name to The Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway Company of Texas on April 2, 1921.

Missouri, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad

The Missouri, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad Company was incorporated under Oklahoma law on July 28, 1910. Its contribution to the effort was construction in 1910 of the bridge across the Red River to connect the Oklahoma and Texas segments of the system. On December 11, 1911, it changed its name to the Oklahoma Union Railway. On February 15, 1912, it was sold to a second corporation named the Missouri, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad (incorporated in Oklahoma on December 12, 1911), which built the final segment north of Wagoner in the 1912-1913 timeframe, and which on September 21, 1912 was leased for 99 years to the Missouri, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway. (The Carpenter’s Bluff bridge continues to exist as an auto bridge, but no longer carries trains.)

Reorganization as the KO&G

The Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway was incorporated under Oklahoma law on July 31, 1919. It purchased the Missouri, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway that year, and it operated the whole Denison-to-Baxter Springs line, a total of 310.5 miles. The railroad even operated on to

Joplin, Missouri Joplin is a city in Jasper County, Missouri, Jasper and Newton County, Missouri, Newton counties in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bulk of the city is in Jasper County, while the southern portion is in Newton County. J ...

via trackage rights over the

St. Louis–San Francisco Railway The St. Louis–San Francisco Railway , commonly known as the "Frisco", was a railroad that operated in the Midwest and South Central United States from 1876 to November 21, 1980. At the end of 1970, it operated of road on of track, not includ ...

The Muskogee Roads

The KO&G fell into receivership on June 7, 1924, and a year later, control of it went to the Muskogee Company. It became one of the

Muskogee Roads 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 railroa ...

, being several railways—notably including the

Midland Valley Railroad 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 Philadelp ...

—all operated by the same company. A contract was signed between the KO&G and the Midland Valley providing for joint operation of facilities where possible. Also, the KO&G obtained 5.8 miles of trackage rights over the Midland Valley in 1926, located between the Midland Valley Junction and Muskogee.

Sale

Operationally, the KO&G had great utility as a bridge line, connecting the Missouri Pacific at Okay, Oklahoma, with the Missouri Pacific’s subsidiary, the Texas and Pacific, at Denison, Texas. The Texas and Pacific acquired the KO&G in 1963, and the assets were promptly consolidated into the Texas and Pacific.

References

*Stagner, Lloyd E. Midland Valley: Rails For Coal, Cattle, & Crude. David City, Nebraska: South Platte Press, 1996. Defunct Kansas railroads Defunct Oklahoma railroads Defunct Texas railroads Former Class I railroads in the United States Predecessors of the Missouri Pacific Railroad Railway companies established in 1919 Railway companies disestablished in 1970 American companies established in 1919 American companies disestablished in 1970 {{US-ClassI-rail-transport-stub