The Blackwell, Enid and Southwestern Railway (BES) was built as a short line railroad operating in Kansas

Kansas

Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

, Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

, and Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

.

It was founded in March 1900 to link the Frisco Beaumont, Kansas

Beaumont, Kansas

Beaumont is an unincorporated community in Butler County, Kansas, United States. The post office was established June 3, 1880, and was discontinued August 16, 1997. The Beaumont St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad Water Tank in Beaumont is on the National Register of Historic Places.Beaumont...

 subdivision and Vernon, Texas

Vernon, Texas

Vernon is a city in Wilbarger County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population was 11,660; it was 11,077 in the 2005 census estimate. Vernon is the county seat of Wilbarger County....

. When the government opened the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache Indian Reservation for settlement on August 6, 1901, Choctaw Construction Company (later part of the Bee Line Construction Company) began construction of 251 miles of track from Vernon, Texas north to Blackwell and Enid in Indian Territory. The line was built in sections, starting from Blackwell, Oklahoma

Blackwell, Oklahoma

Blackwell is a city in Kay County, Oklahoma, United States, located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 177 and State Highway 11 along Interstate 35. The population was 7,668 at the 2000 census. Blackwell was established following the September 16, 1893 Cherokee Outlet land run by A. J. Blackwell...

 to Darrow, Oklahoma (84.3 mi.) in 1900-01. Then from Darrow to the Red River

Red River (Mississippi watershed)

The Red River, or sometimes the Red River of the South, is a major tributary of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers in the southern United States of America. The river gains its name from the red-bed country of its watershed. It is one of several rivers with that name...

 (154.3 mi) in 1901-03. On July 20, 1907 the railroad was purchased by the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway

St. Louis-San Francisco Railway

The St. Louis – San Francisco Railway , also known as the Frisco, was a railroad that operated in the Midwest and South Central U.S. from 1876 to 1980.-History:...

 (the "Frisco"), who operated it until November 21, 1980, when the Frisco was acquired by Burlington Northern.

Passenger Service

The Western Division operated the Texas Express passenger train between Enid, Oklahoma and Vernon, Texas in each direction. The timetable from the 1930s shows that southbound train 609 departed from Enid at 12:20 p.m. and arrived at Vernon at 7:45 p.m.. The northbound train 610 departed Vernon at 6:30 a.m. and arrived at Enid at 1:45 p.m.

Freight Service

The Western Division ran a freight train daily between Enid, Oklahoma and Vernon, Texas in each direction. The timetable used to operate the layout shows that southbound local 667 departed Snyder at 7:45 a.m. and arrived at Vernon at 10:40 a.m.. The northbound local 668 departed Vernon at 1:30 p.m. and arrived at Snyder at 4:45 p.m.

Geography

The line running southwest from Enid, Oklahoma to Vernon, Texas became known as the Hobart Subdivision of the Frisco's Western Division. The topography is flat prairie with a few granite outcroppings located near Snyder, Oklahoma

Snyder, Oklahoma

Snyder is a city in Kiowa County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,394 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Snyder is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, Snyder has a total area of , all of it land....

. Another topographical feature of the Hobart Subdivision was the long timber bridge over the Red River that runs east and west between Oklahoma and Texas.

The line between Enid, Oklahoma to Beaumont, Kansas traversed the central Great Plains in the heart of North America's winter wheat belt.

Current operations

Enid, Oklahoma to Frederick, Oklahoma is now Grainbelt since 1987 (177.7 mi.). The principal commodities handled by Farmrail are wheat, crude and processed gypsum, feed ingredients, crushed stone, oilfield drilling fluids, petroleum products, fertilizers and agricultural machinery.

Abandonments

Davidson, Oklahoma

Davidson, Oklahoma

Davidson is a town in Tillman County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 315 at the 2010 census. The town experienced a minor flood in 1995.-Geography:Davidson is located at ....

 to Vernon, Texas

Vernon, Texas

Vernon is a city in Wilbarger County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population was 11,660; it was 11,077 in the 2005 census estimate. Vernon is the county seat of Wilbarger County....

 - 1957 (15.32 mi.)

Winfield, Kansas

Winfield, Kansas

Winfield is a city situated along the Walnut River in the west-central part of Cowley County, located in South Central Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,301...

 to Beaumont, Kansas - 1977 (42.0 mi.)

Arkansas City, Kansas

Arkansas City, Kansas

Arkansas City is a city situated at the confluence of the Arkansas and Walnut rivers in the southwestern part of Cowley County, located in south-central Kansas, in the central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,415....

to Winfield, Kansas - 1982 (20.2 mi.)

Enid, Oklahoma to Arkansas City, Kansas - 1982 (71.1 mi.)

Davidson, Oklahoma to Frederick, Oklahoma - unknown, likely post-1982

Last train from Enid to Arkansas City 5/29/1982