Quanah, Acme and Pacific Railway

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Quanah, Acme and Pacific Railway
Quanah Acme & Pacific Railway Depot.jpg
Former railway depot in Quanah, Texas
Overview
Dates of operation1902 (1902)–1981 (1981)
PredecessorAcme, Red River and Northern Railway
SuccessorBurlington Northern Railroad

Quanah, Acme and Pacific Railway (QA&P) was a 117-mile (188 km) freight railroad that operated between the Red River and Floydada, Texas, from 1902 until it was merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad in 1981.[1]

History[]

On May 3, 1902, the line was incorporated as the Acme, Red River and Northern Railway. The founders' original, never-realized plans were to extend the line 500 miles (800 km) from the Red River to El Paso, Texas.[2]

On January 28, 1909, the railroad assumed the name of the Quanah, Acme and Pacific.[3] One of the largest shareholders was Harry Koch.[4]

In 1911, the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway assumed control of the QA&P.[2]

In 1913, the eight-mile long Motley County Railroad was chartered with money from more than ninety investors. It ran through unfenced ranch lands in Motley County before joining the QA&P at Roaring Springs. This railroad continued to operate until 1936.[5]

Freight stops on the QA&P were in the Red River, Carnes, Quanah, Acme, Lazare, Swearingen, Paducah, Narcisso, Summit (Motley County), Russellville, Roaring Springs, MacBain, Dougherty, Boothe Spur, and Floydada.

On June 8, 1981, the QA&P was merged by owner Burlington Northern Railroad, which had merged the QA&P's corporate parent, the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway, on November 21, 1980.[6]

The Burlington Northern Railroad abandoned the former QA&P line west of Paducah in 1982.[6]

Traffic[]

QA&P's traffic consisted of overhead freight—between the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway at the Red River and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway at Floydada—and some general commodities.[2] Starting in the 1960s, the QLA freight train via Floydada was scheduled to arrive Los Angeles 38½-to-40 hours after leaving Tulsa. The railroad's traffic was cut back after 1973 when overhead trade took a shorter route via Avard, OK.[7]

In 1925, QA&P reported 8 million ton-miles of revenue freight on 91 miles of line; in 1944, it had 51 million and in 1967, 130 million, both on 120 route-miles.

References[]

  1. ^ For a general history, see Britton, Charles C., "The Quanah Route: A Texas Short Line Railroad" (1990, Joed Books, Ft. Collins, CO).
  2. ^ a b c Lewis, Edward A. (1975). American Short Line Railway Guide. . p. 94.
  3. ^ Lewis, Edward A. (1978). American Short Line Railway Guide. . p. 103.
  4. ^ Yasha Levine (2011-11-07). "Empire Building". The Texas Observer. Retrieved 2014-09-26.
  5. ^ "The Motley County Railroad", Historical marker, Texas Historical Commission, Motley County, Texas
  6. ^ a b Lewis, Edward A. (1986). American Short Line Railway Guide. Kalmbach Books. p. 233.
  7. ^ Trains magazine, January 1984, p. 44.
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