St. Louis Southwestern Railway
Encyclopedia
The St. Louis Southwestern Railway , known by its nickname of "The Cotton Belt Route" or simply Cotton Belt, was organized on January 15, 1891, although it had its origins in a series of short lines founded in Tyler, Texas
, in 1870 that connected northeastern Texas
to Arkansas
and southeastern Missouri
. Construction of the original Tyler Tap Railroad commenced in the Summer of 1875.
The company gained trackage rights on October 18,1903 over the Missouri Pacific Railroad
to reach East St Louis, Illinois and then used Terminal Railroad Association trackage rights into the St. Louis, Missouri
, area. SSW also operated a yard and locomotive servicing facility in East St. Louis, Illinois
, just east of Valley Junction, and south of Alton and Southern Railroad
's Gateway Yard, and north of Kansas City Southern's East St. Louis Yard. They also had a freight station in Downtown St. Louis. Union Pacific Railroad
now operates the yard (still named "Cotton Belt Yard"), but the engine servicing facilities have been demolished.
The St. Louis Southwestern and its subsidiaries operated a total of 1,607 miles of track in 1945; 1,555 miles of track in 1965; and 2,115 miles of track in 1981 after taking over the Rock Island's
Golden State Route.
The Southern Pacific Company gained Interstate Commerce Commission approval to control the Cotton Belt system on April 14, 1932 but continued to operate it as a separate company until 1992, when the SP consolidated the Cotton Belt's operations into the parent company. Cotton Belt diesel locomotive
s from 1959 on were painted in Southern Pacific's "bloody nose" scheme - dark gray locomotive body with a red "winged" nose. The letters "SSW" were painted on the nose and "Cotton Belt" on the sides.
In 1996, the Union Pacific Railroad finished the acquisition that was effectively begun almost a century before with the purchase of the Southern Pacific by UP in 1901, until divestiture was ordered in 1913. The merged company retains the name "Union Pacific" for all railroad operations. Many examples of former SSW locomotives are still utilized by Union Pacific today, although only a small number continue to sport unmodified "Cotton Belt" paint. Most of the remaining units have been repainted into the UP scheme, while others wear 'patched' SSW paint with a UP shield logo and new numbers applied over the SSW number.
to Dallas Union Terminal with a branch from Lewisville, Arkansas
to Shreveport, Louisiana
. The Morning Star was the second named train over much of this route, operating out of St. Louis Union Station
.
The Cotton Belt began a series of passenger train cutbacks in the early 1950s. The railroad had 25 steam engines and four gas electric motor cars available for passenger service in 1949. By late 1952 nine diesels had replaced the steam locomotives and motorcars and passenger train mileage had been trimmed considerably. The last Cotton Belt passenger train, #8 operated on November 30, 1959 from Pine Bluff, Arkansas to East St. Louis, Illinois.
Arkansas and Southern Railway 1887 predecessor of SLA&T line to Shreveport
Arkansas Short Line
Blytheville, Leachville and Arkansas Southern Railroad
Cairo, Trumann and Southern Railroad
Central Arkansas and Eastern Railroad Company
Dallas Terminal Railway and Union Depot Company
Deering Southwestern Railway
Eastern Texas Railroad
Gideon and North Island Railway
Gray’s Point Terminal Railway Company
Kansas and Gulf Short Line Railroad Company
Little River Valley and Arkansas Railroad Company
Manila and Southwestern
Memphis Union Station Company 20%
Paragould Southeastern Railway Company
Pine Bluff Arkansas River Railway
St. Louis, Arkansas and Texas Railway
St. Louis, Arkansas and Texas Terminal Railway
St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company of Texas
Shreveport Bridge and Terminal Company
Southern Illinois and Missouri Bridge Company 40%
Southwest Greyhound Lines, Inc. 16.7%
Southwestern Transportation Company
Stephenville North and South Texas Railway
Stuttgart and Arkansas River Railroad Company
Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis
6.25%
Texarkana Union Station Trust 21%
Texas and Louisiana Railroad
Texas and St. Louis Railway
Texas and St. Louis Railway Company of Arkansas
Tyler Southeastern Railway Company
Tyler Tap Railroad
Union Terminal Company (Dallas, Texas) 12.5%
Valley Terminal Railway
is maintained at the Arkansas Railway Museum in Pine Bluff, Arkansas
, by the Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society
. The #819 was the last new steam locomotive acquired by the Cotton Belt in 1943. It was built in the Pine Bluff Shops.
Louisiana
politician
Andrew R. Johnson
(1856-1933) was once a depot agent for the Cotton Belt Railroad.
Tyler, Texas
Tyler is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, in the United States. It takes its name from President John Tyler . The city had a population of 109,000 in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau...
, in 1870 that connected northeastern 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...
to Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
and southeastern Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. Construction of the original Tyler Tap Railroad commenced in the Summer of 1875.
The company gained trackage rights on October 18,1903 over the Missouri Pacific Railroad
Missouri Pacific Railroad
The Missouri Pacific Railroad , also known as the 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, including the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway , Texas and Pacific...
to reach East St Louis, Illinois and then used Terminal Railroad Association trackage rights into the St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, area. SSW also operated a yard and locomotive servicing facility in East St. Louis, Illinois
East St. Louis, Illinois
East St. Louis is a city located in St. Clair County, Illinois, USA, directly across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri in the Metro-East region of Southern Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 27,006, less than one-third of its peak of 82,366 in 1950...
, just east of Valley Junction, and south of Alton and Southern Railroad
Alton and Southern Railroad
The Alton and Southern Railway is a railroad in Illinois. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railroad that operates a switching railroad in the Greater St. Louis area.- Overview :...
's Gateway Yard, and north of Kansas City Southern's East St. Louis Yard. They also had a freight station in Downtown St. Louis. Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
now operates the yard (still named "Cotton Belt Yard"), but the engine servicing facilities have been demolished.
The St. Louis Southwestern and its subsidiaries operated a total of 1,607 miles of track in 1945; 1,555 miles of track in 1965; and 2,115 miles of track in 1981 after taking over the Rock Island's
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock.-Incorporation:...
Golden State Route.
The Southern Pacific Company gained Interstate Commerce Commission approval to control the Cotton Belt system on April 14, 1932 but continued to operate it as a separate company until 1992, when the SP consolidated the Cotton Belt's operations into the parent company. Cotton Belt diesel locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
s from 1959 on were painted in Southern Pacific's "bloody nose" scheme - dark gray locomotive body with a red "winged" nose. The letters "SSW" were painted on the nose and "Cotton Belt" on the sides.
In 1996, the Union Pacific Railroad finished the acquisition that was effectively begun almost a century before with the purchase of the Southern Pacific by UP in 1901, until divestiture was ordered in 1913. The merged company retains the name "Union Pacific" for all railroad operations. Many examples of former SSW locomotives are still utilized by Union Pacific today, although only a small number continue to sport unmodified "Cotton Belt" paint. Most of the remaining units have been repainted into the UP scheme, while others wear 'patched' SSW paint with a UP shield logo and new numbers applied over the SSW number.
Cotton Belt Passenger Service
The St. Louis Southwestern operated passenger service from St. Louis to Texas points and from Memphis to Shreveport and Dallas. Cotton Belt's Lone Star operated from Memphis Union StationUnion Station (Memphis)
Memphis Union Station was a jointly owned passenger terminal serving the Missouri Pacific Railroad, St. Louis Southwestern Railway, Louisville and Nashville Railroad, Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway and Southern Railway. The terminal was built in the Beaux-Arts style...
to Dallas Union Terminal with a branch from Lewisville, Arkansas
Lewisville, Arkansas
Lewisville is a city in Lafayette County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 1,285 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Lafayette County.-Geography:Lewisville is located at ....
to Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
. The Morning Star was the second named train over much of this route, operating out of St. Louis Union Station
St. Louis Union Station
St. Louis Union Station, a National Historic Landmark, is a passenger train terminal in St. Louis, Missouri. Once the world's largest and busiest train station, it was converted in the early 1980s into a luxury hotel, shopping center, and entertainment complex...
.
The Cotton Belt began a series of passenger train cutbacks in the early 1950s. The railroad had 25 steam engines and four gas electric motor cars available for passenger service in 1949. By late 1952 nine diesels had replaced the steam locomotives and motorcars and passenger train mileage had been trimmed considerably. The last Cotton Belt passenger train, #8 operated on November 30, 1959 from Pine Bluff, Arkansas to East St. Louis, Illinois.
Predecessor and subsidiary Railroads and Terminal Companies
Arkansas and Memphis Railway Bridge and Terminal Company 20%Arkansas and Southern Railway 1887 predecessor of SLA&T line to Shreveport
Arkansas Short Line
Blytheville, Leachville and Arkansas Southern Railroad
Cairo, Trumann and Southern Railroad
Central Arkansas and Eastern Railroad Company
Dallas Terminal Railway and Union Depot Company
Deering Southwestern Railway
Eastern Texas Railroad
Gideon and North Island Railway
Gray’s Point Terminal Railway Company
Kansas and Gulf Short Line Railroad Company
Little River Valley and Arkansas Railroad Company
Manila and Southwestern
Memphis Union Station Company 20%
Paragould Southeastern Railway Company
Pine Bluff Arkansas River Railway
St. Louis, Arkansas and Texas Railway
St. Louis, Arkansas and Texas Terminal Railway
St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company of Texas
Shreveport Bridge and Terminal Company
Southern Illinois and Missouri Bridge Company 40%
Southwest Greyhound Lines, Inc. 16.7%
Southwestern Transportation Company
Stephenville North and South Texas Railway
Stephenville North and South Texas Railway
The Stephenville North & South Texas Railway was incorporated in Texas on February 4, 1907 by Stephenville and Hamilton business interests. Its original standard gauge 43 mile line was built between Stephenville and Hamilton and completed in late 1907. The first train operated between Stephenville...
Stuttgart and Arkansas River Railroad Company
Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis
Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis
The Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis is a terminal railroad owned by railroads in St. Louis, Missouri which handles traffic through its metropolitan area.-Components:It was founded in 1889 in a deal orchestrated by Jay Gould by:...
6.25%
Texarkana Union Station Trust 21%
Texas and Louisiana Railroad
Texas and St. Louis Railway
Texas and St. Louis Railway Company of Arkansas
Tyler Southeastern Railway Company
Tyler Tap Railroad
Union Terminal Company (Dallas, Texas) 12.5%
Valley Terminal Railway
Cotton Belt 819
St. Louis Southwestern 819St. Louis Southwestern 819
The St. Louis Southwestern #819 is a 4-8-4 steam locomotive. It was completed in 1943 and was the last engine built by the railway affectionately known as the "Cotton Belt Route". It was also the last locomotive built in Arkansas to date...
is maintained at the Arkansas Railway Museum in Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Pine Bluff is the largest city and county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. It is also the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Arkansas Combined Statistical Area...
, by the Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society
Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society
The Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society, Inc. is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to the restoration and preservation of the history of the St...
. The #819 was the last new steam locomotive acquired by the Cotton Belt in 1943. It was built in the Pine Bluff Shops.
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
Andrew R. Johnson
A.R. Johnson (Louisiana politician)
Andrew R. Johnson, known as A.R. Johnson , was a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate, who represented District 24 from 1916 to 1924....
(1856-1933) was once a depot agent for the Cotton Belt Railroad.
External links
- Facts on the Cotton Belt 4-8-4's, Including the 819
- Cotton Belt website
- Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society
- Cotton Belt Railroad Symposium, annual event hosted by Texas A&M University-Commerce