The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad was an American
railroad
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
that owned or operated two individual segments of track. One connected
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...
, with
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...
, and the other connected
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...
, with
Needles in
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...
. It was
incorporated by the
U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...
in 1866 as a
transcontinental railroad
A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous rail transport, railroad trackage that crosses a continent, continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks may be via the Ra ...
connecting
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...
, and
Van Buren, Arkansas
Van Buren ( ) is the second-largest city in the Fort Smith metropolitan area, Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area and the county seat of Crawford County, Arkansas, Crawford County, Arkansas, United States. The city is lo ...
, with California. The central portion was never constructed, and the two halves later became parts of the
St. Louis-San Francisco Railway and
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996.
The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at vario ...
systems, now both merged into the
BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...
.
History
The A&P's earliest predecessor was the
Pacific Railroad
The Pacific Railroad (not to be confused with Union Pacific Railroad) was a railroad based in Missouri. It was a predecessor of both the Missouri Pacific Railroad and St. Louis-San Francisco Railway.
The Pacific was chartered by Missouri in 184 ...
, incorporated by the
Missouri General Assembly
The Missouri General Assembly is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bicameral General Assembly is composed of a 34-member Missouri Senate, Senate and a 163-member Missouri House of Represen ...
in 1849 to connect
St. Louis
St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
and a point south of
Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...
across the center of the state. In response to an 1852 federal law
granting public lands to Missouri to aid in constructing two cross-state railroads, the state approved an amendment to the 1849 Pacific Railroad law in December 1852, adding a Southwest Branch that would receive the grants. The new branch, defined by state law to lie south of the
Osage River
The Osage River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 31, 2011 tributary of the Missouri River in central Missouri in the United States. The eighth-largest river in ...
, began at Franklin, Missouri,(now
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...
) on the main line and headed west-southwesterly across the state. Construction on from Franklin to
Dillon was completed in 1860, and a further to
Rolla were opened in 1861. The company
graded more to
Arlington. After it
defaulted on bonds that had been issued for the branch, the state seized the road from Franklin to Rolla and incomplete roadbed to Arlington in March 1866. The property was sold in June for $1.3 million (equivalent to $ million in ) to explorer and politician
John C. Frémont
Major general (United States), Major-General John Charles Frémont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was a United States Army officer, explorer, and politician. He was a United States senator from California and was the first History of the Repub ...
, who reorganized it as the Southwest Pacific Railroad in September. (The main line of the Pacific Railroad was not sold, and would later become the
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 ...
.)
Interstate Commerce Commission
The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later Trucking industry in the United States, truc ...
, 41 Val. Rep. 139 (1933): St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Company[John Bell Sanborn]
Congressional Grants of Land in Aid of Railways
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...
, 1899, pp. 115-126
In July 1866, Congress passed a law incorporating the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad under control of Frémont and associates. The company was given the power to build near the
35th parallel from
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...
west to the Pacific, with a branch from
Van Buren, Arkansas
Van Buren ( ) is the second-largest city in the Fort Smith metropolitan area, Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area and the county seat of Crawford County, Arkansas, Crawford County, Arkansas, United States. The city is lo ...
. In exchange for its completion by 1878, the railroad would receive land grants along its route. The same conditions were applied to the
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...
of California, which could build a branch to connect to the A&P near the eastern border of that state. The A&P purchased the Southwest Pacific in January 1867, and that year rails were laid on the grade to Arlington. That company defaulted on its payments, and the state of Missouri seized the property in June 1867, selling it to a new South Pacific Railroad in July 1868. Ownership of the A&P was also transferred to the new owners, which included
Clinton B. Fisk of St. Louis. Another to
Pierce City and of grading to
Seneca on the state line were completed in 1870, when, in October, the South Pacific sold its property to the A&P. That company laid rails to
Neosho that year and to Seneca, and beyond to
Vinita, Oklahoma
Vinita is a city and county seat of Craig County, Oklahoma, Craig County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 5,193.
History
Vinita was founded in 1870 by Elias Cornelius Boudinot. In 1 ...
, in 1871, and in June 1872 it leased the Pacific (later Missouri Pacific) Railroad, which operated a line to Kansas City and branches, including several into
Kansas
Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
. The A&P's only branch, to a mine near
Granby, Missouri, was built in 1875.
[
But this incarnation had similar financial problems; its Missouri division (Franklin to Seneca) was placed under ]receivership
In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver – a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights" – especia ...
in November 1875, and the Pacific Railroad lease was canceled. The owners of the A&P incorporated the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway in September 1876, and immediately acquired the property of the Missouri division, and a lease on the Central division (Seneca to Vinita). Extensions beyond Vinita for to Tulsa
Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...
(1882), to Red Fork (1885), and to Sapulpa (1886) were included in the lease. The SL&SF also constructed a direct line into St. Louis in 1883, ending its dependence on the Missouri Pacific for access to that city.[
In January 1880, the SL&SF came to an agreement with the ]Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996.
The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at vario ...
, which had recently entered New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
from the north, whereby the two companies would jointly control the A&P. The SL&SF would continue to operate the Central division, and a new Western division would begin on the AT&SF at Isleta, New Mexico and head west to meet the Southern Pacific at Needles, California. Construction began that year, and reached Kingman, Arizona
Kingman is a city in and the county seat of Mohave County, Arizona, United States. It is named after Lewis Kingman, an engineer for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. The population was 32,693 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census.
Hi ...
in 1882. The SP began building a branch from Mojave, California that same year, east to Needles, where the two met on August 9, 1883. The A&P, then essentially an operating subsidiary of the AT&SF, leased the line from the SP in August 1884, and in November 1885 the AT&SF-owned California Southern Railroad
The California Southern Railroad was a subsidiary railroad of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (Santa Fe) in Southern California. It was organized July 10, 1880, and chartered on October 23, 1880, to build a rail connection between wha ...
completed its line over Cajon Pass
Cajon Pass (; Spanish: ''Puerto del Cajón'' or ''Paso del Cajón'') is a mountain pass between the San Bernardino Mountains to the east and the San Gabriel Mountains to the west in Southern California. Created by the movements of the San Andr ...
to the SP's Needles branch at Barstow, giving the AT&SF access to the coast. In addition to its lease of the SP to Mojave, the A&P operated via trackage rights
Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies.
Operating
Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may c ...
over the AT&SF from Isleta to Albuquerque
Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...
.Interstate Commerce Commission
The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later Trucking industry in the United States, truc ...
, 127 I. C. C. 1 (1927): Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company
The AT&SF gained control of the SL&SF in 1890, but both companies entered receivership
In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver – a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights" – especia ...
in December 1893 after the Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States. It began in February 1893 and officially ended eight months later. The Panic of 1896 followed. It was the most serious economic depression in history until the Great Depression of ...
, and the A&P followed in January 1894. That road's Western division was sold to the newly created AT&SF subsidiary Santa Fe Pacific Railroad in June 1897, and the remaining Central division was sold under foreclosure
Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has Default (finance), stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the Collateral (finance), coll ...
to the reorganized SL&SF, which was again independent of the AT&SF, in December 1897, ending the A&P's existence.[ Through the Santa Fe Pacific, the AT&SF acquired ]trackage rights
Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies.
Operating
Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may c ...
in January 1899 over the SP's Tehachapi Pass
Tehachapi Pass ( Kawaiisu: ''Tihachipia'', meaning "hard climb") is a mountain pass crossing the Tehachapi Mountains in Kern County, California. Traditionally, the pass marks the northeast end of the Tehachapis and the south end of the Sierra N ...
line, giving it access to the Central Valley of California and San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
. The Santa Fe Pacific left the SP at Kern Junction, where the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railway
The San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railroad was a California rail line between Stockton, California, Stockton and Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield constructed in the late 1890s and very shortly thereafter purchased by the Atchison, Tope ...
- another AT&SF subsidiary - began, and operated into Bakersfield
Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region.
Bakersfield's population as of the ...
via SF&SJV trackage. The AT&SF bought the railroad property of the Santa Fe Pacific in July 1902, and its non-operating subsidiary
In the United States, a paper railroad is a company in the railroad business that exists "on paper only": as a legal entity which does not own any track, locomotives, or rolling stock.
In the early days of railroad construction, paper railroads ...
California, Arizona and Santa Fe Railway bought the leased Southern Pacific line between Mojave and Needles in December 1911, but the Santa Fe Pacific Railroad continued to own its land grants from the A&P,.[ the Santa Fe Pacific continued to exist as a subsidiary of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation, successor to the AT&SF. The gap across Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico was eventually filled in 1904, when the Arkansas Valley and Western Railway, an SL&SF subsidiary, completed its line from ]Tulsa
Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...
to Avard, Oklahoma, on the AT&SF's line through the Texas Panhandle.[ The line was joined under one company in 1995, when the AT&SF merged with SL&SF successor ]Burlington Northern Railroad
The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States–based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1995.
Its historical lineage begins in the earliest days of railroad ...
to form the BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...
, and remains a main line.[Robert Wegner, Map of the Month: BNSF Predecessors, '']Trains
A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...
'', September 2003, p. 52
References
Further reading
*
External links
Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atlantic Pacific Railroad
Predecessors of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
Predecessors of the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway
Defunct California railroads
Defunct Arizona railroads
Defunct New Mexico railroads
Defunct Missouri railroads
Defunct Oklahoma railroads
Rail lines receiving land grants
Railway companies established in 1866
Railway companies disestablished in 1897
Defunct Kansas railroads
1866 establishments in Missouri
American companies established in 1866
American companies disestablished in 1897