The Clinton and Oklahoma Western Railroad was a railway in

southwestern Oklahoma Southwest Oklahoma is a geographical name for the southwest portion of the state of Oklahoma, typically considered to be south of the Canadian River, extending eastward from the Texas border to a line roughly from Weatherford, Oklahoma, Weatherfo ...

and the Texas Panhandle, with a mainline eventually running from

Clinton, Oklahoma Clinton is a city in Custer and Washita counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 8,521 at the time of the 2020 census. History The community began in 1899 when two men, J.L. Avant and E.E. Blake, decided to locate a town i ...

Pampa, Texas Pampa (from the Quechua: ''pampa'', meaning "plain") is a city in Gray County, Texas, United States. Its population was 16,867 as of the 2020 census. Pampa is the county seat of Gray County and is the principal city of the Pampa micropolita ...

, about 139 miles. The predecessor company was incorporated in 1908, and the railroad was merged out of existence in 1948.

History

An entity called the Clinton and Oklahoma Western Railway Company was chartered November 10, 1908 for the stated purpose of constructing a railroad from

Guymon, Oklahoma Guymon ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Texas County, in the panhandle of Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 12,965, an increase of 13.3% from 11,442 in 2010, and represents more than half of the pop ...

, which is northwest of Clinton in the Oklahoma Panhandle, as well as building southeast from Clinton to the coal-mining town of Lehigh in

southeastern Oklahoma Choctaw Country is the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation's official tourism designation for Southeast Oklahoma. The name was previously Kiamichi Country until changed in honor of the Choctaw Nation headquartered there. The current d ...

. The railroad did build northwest from Clinton, but stopped at

Strong City, Oklahoma Strong City is a town in Roger Mills County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 33. History The town of Strong City was formally established June 25, 1912. It was named for Clint Strong, a railroad offic ...

in Roger Mills County in August of 1912. The townspeople of

Cheyenne, Oklahoma Cheyenne is a town in Roger Mills County, Oklahoma, Roger Mills County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town's population was 771. It is the county seat of Roger Mills County. History Cheyenne is the ...

, the Roger Mills County seat, were concerned about being bypassed by the railroad, and promptly chartered their own railway, the Cheyenne Short Line Railroad, on December 2, 1912, to run up the

Washita River The Washita River () is a river in the U.S. states of Texas and Oklahoma. The river is long and terminates at its confluence with the Red River of the South, Red River, which is now part of Lake Texoma () on the TexasOklahoma border. Geogra ...

valley to connect with the larger railway at Strong City. That short line, after completion and a later reorganization as The Cheyenne Railroad Company, was leased to the Clinton and Oklahoma Western in 1917. On April 9, 1920, the Clinton and Oklahoma Western ''Railroad'' Company was organized, purchasing the rights of both the Clinton and Oklahoma Western ''Railway'' Company and The Cheyenne Railroad Company. The railroad’s plans changed. The railway was eventually extended west to the Oklahoma/Texas state line, and a sister company, the Clinton-Oklahoma-Western Railroad Company of Texas, was chartered on July 30, 1927 to build the line from the border through

Hemphill County, Texas Hemphill County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 3,382. The county seat and only incorporated community in the county is the city of Canadian. The county was created in 1876 and o ...

, to the town of

Pampa The Pampas (; from Quechuan languages, Quechua 'plain'), also known as the Pampas Plain, are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentina, Argentine Provinces of Argentina, provinces of Buenos Aires Pro ...

Gray County, Texas Gray County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 21,227. The county seat is Pampa. The county was created in 1876 and later organized in 1902. Gray County is named for Peter W. Gray, a C ...

. Before completion, however, both the Clinton and Oklahoma Western Railroad Company and its Texas affiliate were acquired by the

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 ...

in June of 1928. The line was completed into Pampa in 1929, giving the railroad a mainline of about 84 miles of track from Clinton to the Oklahoma/Texas border, and about 55 miles from the border to Pampa. An 11 mile branch from the town of Heaton, Texas to Coltexo, an oil camp three miles northeast of Lefors, Texas, was added in 1931. The Santa Fe leased the railway to its

Panhandle and Santa Fe Railway The Panhandle and Santa Fe Railway (P&SF) was an American rail transport company that was a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (AT&SF), operating primarily in the Texas Panhandle. History Chartered November 2, 1886 as The S ...

affiliate in 1931. That entity operated the line until taking it by merger on December 31, 1948. At least some of this trackage has since been abandoned, including the original Clinton-to-Strong City route which was abandoned around 1981.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clinton and Oklahoma Western Railroad Defunct Texas railroads Defunct Oklahoma railroads