Oklahoma, Kansas And Texas Railroad
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The Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas Railroad (OKT) was a railroad operating in its namesake states in the 1980s.


OKT I

The Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas Railroad was originally created on May 29, 1980, after the demise of the
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad The original Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At ...
on March 31, 1980. A subsidiary of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (MKT), it operated of the former Rock Island's Herington, Kansas, to
Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...
, North-South line, as a cooperative venture with local shippers providing 3 million dollars in initial start-up costs. The original OKT North-South route ran from St. Joe, Missouri, to Topeka, Kansas, south through Herington, Wichita, Enid and El Reno to Fort Worth. It also originally operated several of the former Rock Island's branch lines including: Herington to Salina; Ponca City to Enid; Chickasha to Anadarko and Lawton; and from Waurika to Walters. In addition, a small portion of the Rock Island's East-West mainline was operated between El Reno and nearby Oklahoma City. During the original version of the OKT, a total of 61,891 cars were moved during 1981, with the first train leaving Dallas, the company's headquarters, on June 6, 1980. Although the MKT supplied the bulk of operating equipment during OKT I, additional leased equipment was obtained for use on the line, including leased EMD GP38s from
Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busine ...
and a number of
caboose A caboose is a crewed North American railroad car coupled at the end of a freight train. Cabooses provide shelter for crew at the end of a train, who were formerly required in switching and shunting; as well as in keeping a lookout for load ...
s leased from Conrail and from the
Alaska Railroad The Alaska Railroad is a Class II railroad that operates freight and passenger trains in the state of Alaska. The railroad's mainline runs between Seward, Alaska, Seward on the southern coast and Fairbanks, Alaska, Fairbanks, near the center of ...
. However, due to poor financial performance, MKT management sought reduced rentals from the Rock Island Trustee, with both sides going back and forth until MKT shut down its original OKT operations on December 31, 1981. The State of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas Rail Users' Association helped the two sides to reach consensus on a purchase price. On October 20, 1982, U.S. District Judge Frank McGarr approved the sale of the Herington, Kansas, to Ft Worth, Texas, line to MKT subsidiary OKT for 55 million dollars consisting of of line.


Interim operations between OKT I and OKT II

During negotiations in 1981 and 1982, Okarche Central Railway (OCRI) operated portions of the line between Enid & El Reno and from El Reno to Oklahoma City, North Central Texas Railway (NCTR) operated portions of the line between
Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
, and Chico, Texas, Enid Central Railway (ENIC), which began operations January 1, 1982 and ceased all operations on February 28, 1983, operated line between Enid & El Reno and between Enid & Ponca City, and North Central Oklahoma Railway (NCOK) operated Chickasha to El Reno as well as the branch line between Chickasha and Anadarko. OCRI, NCTR, NCOK, and ENIC all were owned by the same corporation.


OKT II

After the line was finally purchased from the Rock Island Trustee, the second version of the OKT reinstated operations on November 1, 1982. Somewhat similar to the first OKT operation, the second version still included the Herington to Dallas mainline; the El Reno to Oklahoma City secondary main; the Chickasha to Lawton branch; and the Waurika to Walters branch. In addition, the line also acquired the Herington to Abilene branch as well as the Rock Island's trackage rights over the
Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...
(UP) between Abilene and Salina. Notably absent during the second OKT operation was the Enid to Ponca City branch line and the Topeka to St. Joe line, both of which were quickly abandoned. The startup of OKT II displaced the NCTR, NCOK, and ENIC. The ENIC ceased operations on February 28, 1983, and the NCTR on October 31, 1982. NCOK began operating a westward line from El Reno to Geary, Oklahoma, and then northward through Watonga, Okeene and Homestead on March 1, 1983 until it became under AT&L control in 1985. The OKT proved to be a valuable addition to the MKT Lines and generated thousands of carloads annually. The main commodities shipped on the line were wheat and corn from Kansas and Oklahoma, and sand, gravel and other aggregates from several on line facilities including Chico, Richard's Spur, Waurika and Dover. Although the line utilized the majority of its equipment from the parent MKT, the line did receive its own jumbo wheat hoppers lettered OKKT as well as several EMD GP39-2s and GP38s which also displayed a small OKT logo.


Operations

Primary trains on the route consisted of daily Wichita to Ft. Worth freights, Trains 503 (southbound) and 504 (northbound). An occasional second section was operated (usually a unit grain train) which were assigned Trains 603 (southbound) and 604 (northbound). A five-day a week El Reno Turn was operated between Oklahoma City and El Reno as Train 537 (westbound) and Train 538 (eastbound). The 7 day a week Oklahoma City to Richards Spur rock trains were Trains 521 and 531 (southbound empties) and Trains 522 and 532 (northbound loads). These trains also provided all local switching to any on line customers at Anadarko, Apache and Lawton. Locals on the Walters Branch were operated as extras. The seven-day-a-week Chico Turn rock trains (Dallas-Ft. Worth to Chico) were assigned as Train 550 (northbound empties) and Train 551 (southbound loads).


Mergers

Like its parent corporation the MKT, the OKT became a part of the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company (MPRR) on August 12, 1988. On January 1, 1997, MPRR merged into the Union Pacific.


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oklahoma Kansas Texas Railroad Defunct Oklahoma railroads Defunct Kansas railroads Defunct Texas railroads Predecessors of the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad Railway companies established in 1980 Railway companies disestablished in 1989 American companies established in 1980