The Vicksburg, Shreveport and Pacific Railway (May 1, 1901, to December 31, 1926) was chartered as the Vicksburg, Shreveport, & Texas Railroad Company with an east and west division on April 28, 1853, to be a link, via a transfer boat, between

Vicksburg, Mississippi Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat. The population was 21,573 at the 2020 census. Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vicksburg ...

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 ...

, and points west. The line owned 188.448 miles of single-track,

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 ...

track from Delta Point to

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

, on the Texas-Louisiana state line. The Vicksburg, Shreveport and Pacific Railway came into existence through acquisitions from foreclosures, court decisions, and reorganization, some of these were argued by the company lawyer Edward H. Randolph. The company was also known as the North Louisiana and Texas Railroad from 1868 until 1875, when the acquisition was set aside by court decision, and the railroad went into receivership. The Vicksburg, Shreveport and Pacific Railroad was chartered December 2, 1879, and ran until 1901.

History

The

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

seized the line in 1862 and in 1863 disassembled a large portion. The Union Army took apart the entire line east of

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...

. Following the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

the company went into receivership on Dec. 30, 1865, into foreclosure on Feb. 5, 1866, and was purchased by the North Louisiana and Texas Railroad Company in 1868. The Alabama, New Orleans, Texas, and Pacific Junction Railways Company, Limited, of London, England, acquired the Vicksburg, Shreveport, and Pacific Railroad in 1881 to 1882, through the Erlanger Interests of Europe. The railroad operated until 1926, when leased to

Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad The Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad (Y&MV) was incorporated in 1882 and was part of the Illinois Central Railroad system (IC). Construction began in Jackson, Mississippi, and continued to Yazoo City, Mississippi. The line was later expand ...

for 365 years and

merged Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...

with the

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, ...

on May 29, 1959. At one point there were twenty-four stops between Shreveport and Delta Point but by 1967 there were only twelve depots.

Waskom extension

The tracks between Shreveport and Waskom, which was spelled Wascom in 1917 documents, was built by the Vicksburg, Shreveport, & Texas Railroad Company, and leased to the

Texas and Pacific Railway The Texas and Pacific Railway Company (known as the T&P) was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California. However its lines never went we ...

in 1862. On September 12, 1882, the T&P completed their own tracks from Waskom to Shreveport.

Rail ownership

*Delta Point, La. (Mississippi River Bridge) to Shreveport, La. #Originally Vicksburg, Shreveport & Texas Railroad (1853–1868) #Formerly North Louisiana & Texas Railroad (1868–1879) #Formerly Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific (1879–1926) #Part of Queen & Crescent Route (1889–1926) #Formerly Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad (1926–1946) #Formerly Illinois Central Railroad (1926–1972) #Formerly Illinois Central Gulf Railroad (1972–1986) #Formerly Mid-South Railroad (1986–1993) #Formerly Kansas City Southern (1993–2023) #Currently

Canadian Pacific Kansas City Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited, Trade name, doing business as CPKC (known as Canadian Pacific Railway Limited until 2023), is a Canadian railway holding company. Through its primary operating railroad subsidiaries, Canadian Pacific Railw ...

(2023– ) *Shreveport to Lorraine #Originally Vicksburg, Shreveport & Texas Railroad (1853–1868) #Formerly North Louisiana & Texas Railroad (1868–1879) #Formerly Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific (1879–1926) #Part of Queen & Crescent Route (1889–1926) #Formerly Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad (1926–1946) #Formerly

(1926–1950s) #Currently abandoned

References

{{Authority control Louisiana railroads Mississippi railroads Economy of the Southeastern United States Railway companies established in 1853 Railway companies disestablished in 1926 1853 establishments in the United States Former Class I railroads in the United States