The St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company , known by its nickname of "The Cotton Belt Route" or simply "Cotton Belt", was a

Class I railroad Railroad classes are the system by which Rail freight transport, freight railroads are designated in the United States. Railroads are assigned to Class I, II or III according to annual revenue criteria originally set by the Surface Transportatio ...

that operated between

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 ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, and various points in the U.S. states of

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, and

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

from 1891 to 1980, when the system added the Rock Island's Golden State Route and operations in

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 ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, and

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 ...

. The Cotton Belt operated as a Southern Pacific subsidiary from 1932 until 1992, when its operation was assumed by

Southern Pacific Transportation Company The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names ...

Corporate history

The Cotton Belt was part of the railroad empire acquired by financier

Jay Gould Jason Gould (; May 27, 1836 – December 2, 1892) was an American railroad magnate and financial speculator who founded the Gould family, Gould business dynasty. He is generally identified as one of the Robber baron (industrialist), robber bar ...

in the last quarter of the 19th century. "By 1890 Gould owned the

Missouri Pacific 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 ...

, the Texas and Pacific, the St. Louis Southwestern, and the International-Great Northern, one-half of the mileage in the Southwest", the ''Handbook of Texas'' wrote. The railroad was organized on January 15, 1891, although it had its origins in a line founded in

Tyler, Texas Tyler, officially the City of Tyler, is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, United States. As of 2020, the population is 105,995. Tyler was the List of municipalities in Texas, 38th most populous city in Texas (as well as the m ...

, in 1871. Construction of the original Tyler Tap Railroad began in the summer of 1875, and the first 21 miles out of Tyler to

Big Sandy, Texas Big Sandy is a town in Upshur County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 1,231. A lake of the same name is cut nearly in half by U.S. Highway 80, the main thoroughfare of Big Sandy. It lies directly west ...

were constructed by early October 1887. The line became the Texas and St. Louis Railway, and was completed between

Gatesville, Texas Gatesville is a city in and the county seat of Coryell County, Texas, United States. Its population was 16,135 at the 2020 census. The city has five of the nine prisons and state jails for women operated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice ...

and

Bird's Point, Missouri Bird's Point (or Birds Point) is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community in Mississippi County, Missouri, Mississippi County, Missouri, United States. It lies on an island or former island in the Mississippi River, near the ...

by August 12, 1883, creating a continuous 725-mile system. However, that line promptly went into receivership, and was purchased by the St. Louis, Arkansas and Texas Railway in 1886. The assets of that company were acquired out of foreclosure by the St. Louis-Southwestern Railway in 1891. On October 18, 1903, the Cotton Belt gained trackage rights over 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 ...

along the eastern shore of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

to reach East St. Louis, Illinois, and then used Terminal Railroad Association trackage rights into St. Louis. The Cotton Belt operated a freight station in downtown St. Louis, but its main base of operations in the area was its yard and a locomotive servicing facility in East St. Louis, 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.

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

now operates Cotton Belt Yard, although the engine servicing facilities have been demolished. The Cotton Belt and its subsidiary St. Louis Southwestern Railway of Texas operated 1,607 miles of road in 1945; 1,555 miles in 1965; and 2,115 miles in 1981 after taking over the Rock Island's Golden State Route. In 1925, SSW and SSW of Texas reported a total of 1,474 million net ton-miles of revenue freight and 75 million passenger-miles; in 1970 it carried 8,650 million ton-miles and no passengers. 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 ...

(SP) assumed control of the SSW on April 14, 1932 and operated it as a subsidiary of SP until 1992, when the Southern Pacific consolidated the Cotton Belt's operations into the parent company. Southern Pacific merged with

in 1996.

Passenger service

The Cotton Belt ran passenger trains from St. Louis to Texas and from Memphis to Dallas and

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

. Cotton Belt's '' Lone Star'' operated from Memphis Union Station to Dallas Union Terminal with a connecting section from

Lewisville, Arkansas Lewisville is a city in Lafayette County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 1,280 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Lafayette County. Geography Lewisville is located in northern Lafayette County. U.S. Route 82 passes thr ...

, to Shreveport. The ''

Morning Star Morning Star, morning star, or Morningstar may refer to: Astronomy * Morning star, most commonly used as a name for the planet Venus when it appears in the east before sunrise ** See also Venus in culture * Morning star, a name for the star Siri ...

'' was the second named train over much of this route, operating out of

St. Louis Union Station St. Louis Union Station is a National Historic Landmark and former train station in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. At its 1894 opening, the station was the largest in the world. Traffic peaked at 100,000 people a day in the 1940s. The las ...

to Dallas, with a separate Memphis section inaugurated in 1941 to provide a convenient connection with the Southern Railway's '' Tennessean'' to and from

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The Cotton Belt also operated passenger trains between Mt. Pleasant, Tyler and Waco, and a doodlebug between Tyler and Lufkin. 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 final operations in Texas involved overnight service between St. Louis and Dallas, with major intermediate stops in Jonesboro, Pine Bluff, Texarkana and Tyler. The Cotton Belt was one of the first Class 1 lines in the southwest to discontinue passenger service. The last Cotton Belt passenger train, #8, operated on November 30, 1959, from

Pine Bluff, Arkansas Pine Bluff, officially the City of Pine Bluff, is the List of municipalities in Arkansas, tenth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas and the county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, Jefferson County. The population of the city wa ...

, to East St. Louis, Illinois.

Acquisitions

The following railroads were acquired or merged into the Cotton Belt Route: * Blytheville, Leachville & Arkansas Southern Railroad - Basically an industrial line bringing timber to the Chicago Mill & Lumber Company near Blytheville AR. Operated 17 miles of owned track from a logging location known as Shaw AR to Leachville AR, from there had running rights 8 miles over the Frisco to Arbyrd, MO, from thereto had running rights over the Paragould Southeastern Railway for 22 miles to Chickasawba AR, then ran on 2.5 miles of owned track to the mill. * Gideon & North Island Railroad * Little River Valley & Arkansas Railroad * Paragould Southeastern Railway - Incorporated October 11, 1887 as a tramway, it was reorganized as a

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

line in 1893 and by 1907 the line ran from

Paragould, Arkansas Paragould is a city in and the county seat of Greene County, Arkansas, Greene County, and the 19th-largest city in Arkansas, in the United States. The city is located in northeastern Arkansas on the eastern edge of Crowley's Ridge, a geologic anom ...

Blytheville, Arkansas Blytheville is one of two county seat, county seats of and the largest city in Mississippi County, Arkansas, Mississippi County, Arkansas, United States. It is approximately north of West Memphis, Arkansas, West Memphis. The population was 13,40 ...

. The St. Louis & Southwestern Railroad fully absorbed the line in January 1914. * St. Louis, Arkansas & Texas Railway * Stuttgart & Arkansas River Railroad * Texas & St. Louis Railway Colton junction

Notable employees

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

Andrew R. Johnson (1856–1933) was once a depot agent for the Cotton Belt railroad. *Railroad official Robert Krebs worked for Cotton Belt in the late 1960s and early 1970s as a trainmaster and terminal superintendent. Krebs became superintendent of the Cotton Belt at age 29 in 1971.

References

External links

*
Cotton Belt Depot Museum (Tyler, Texas)Facts on the Cotton Belt 4-8-4's, Including the 819Cotton Belt Railroad Symposium
annual event hosted by Texas A&M University-Commerce

Bibliography

* ''Moody's Steam Railroads'', 1949. * ''Moody's Transportation Manual'', 1968. * Goen, Steve Allen. ''Cotton Belt Color Pictorial'', Four Ways West Publications, 1999, . * ''Eighty Years of Transportation Progress: A History of the St. Louis Southwestern Railway'' (Cotton Belt Public Relations Department, 1957) as published in the October 1957 issue of ''The Cotton Belt News''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Louis Southwestern Railway Predecessors of the Southern Pacific Transportation Company Defunct Arkansas railroads Defunct Missouri railroads Defunct Texas railroads Defunct Illinois railroads Former Class I railroads in the United States Companies based in St. Louis Railway companies established in 1891 Railway companies disestablished in 1992 Defunct Tennessee railroads Defunct New Mexico railroads Defunct Louisiana railroads Defunct Kansas railroads Defunct Oklahoma railroads 1891 establishments in the United States 1992 disestablishments in the United States