Nostalgia & History > Sooner/Lawton sub history

I'm curious to know more about the history of the Sooner, and Lawton subs, and
branches operated by the SLWC in the OKC area. Here is what I am
particularly interested in, but any local info would be appreciated.

I know the Sooner sub used to be BNSF/BN/Frisco, but did that continue
onto the Lawton sub too or was that operated by the SF?

At Midwest City, where the SLWC/UP interlocking is, I heard the
"Midwest City Lead" track used to be another roads mainline, and in
fact there is still a signal coming off that track (out of servce). I
heard there used to be two diamonds there. If this is true, who was
the other railroad (UP, Frisco, Rock Island ?) and where did the track come
from/go to?

How about the "Packing Town Lead" that comes off the BNSF Red Rock Sub
at MP 385.3, which we now use to switch Trinity rail car mnfr, and a
few other customers, was that used to bring cattle trains in to the
market way back when? Who operated that line? Signal boxes at a few
of the crossings, you can still read "In case of Emergency contact
Santa Fe" under the new stenciling. Also, was this always an
industrial branch, or was it a mainline route at one point? What
appears to be signal bases are still along the tracks at a few points,
making me wonder if this was once signaled track. Where did this line
go??

In what is now SLWC yard limits are the remains of several platforms at the old union station. Which railroads served OKC at this station? I would assume all Santa Fe trains served the city at their own depot in downtown (now the Amtrak station) Since the UP and Frisco tracks ran through there, I know they did, but what other railroads served the city? Any pics of the station/platforms durring use?

Thanks!
TR

Frisco 4-8-2 #1503 at OKC, ca 1930's probably.

Con

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I THINK that these were made in OKC, but I'm not certain. Does anyone agree/disagree?

Con

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Definitely OKC Union Station.

The M-K-T, the Oklahoma City, Ada, Atoka and the Rock Island Choctaw line, as well as the Oklahoma Railway (electric) all served OKC at one point or another. The Rock had a freight belt line, much of which they inherited from the Oklahoma. Some of the track you mention may have been part of this. Random pieces and even some crossing protection was still in place in the late 80's. It headed out to the west from downtown and then made a right turn up to the vicinity of Warr Acres where there was a small industrial park.

IIRC, the M-K-T stopped coming into town from the east due to washouts. When they took over the Rock Island, they started to come in from the west through El Reno. The UP eventually took over the line.

Pepperidge

The Frisco operated the Sooner sub and continued on through Lawton, winding up at Quanah, Texas. The so-called Midwest City lead was originally built by the Katy, but was sold to the Oklahoma City-Ada-Atoka probably in the 1930's. Yes, there were 2 diamonds there, the North one is where the Rock Island crossed the Frisco, and the South one is where the OCAA crossed the Frisco. The South track west of the South diamond led on into downtown paralleling the Rock Island. The OCAA used Katy's yard and depot.

The Packing Town lead is a little more obscure. The track only lead to the Stockyards, and all the trackage at the Stockyards was operated by Oklahoma Railway Company. I don't know exactly at what point the Santa Fe trackage ended and the Oklahoma Railway trackage took over. The Oklahoma Railway also had a line (mentioned in another post) that served the Northwest side of Oklahoma City. Originally the Oklahoma Railway line left their shop area (around Exchange Avenue), and headed West and then turned sharply North right in the middle of what is now the Oklahoma Fairgrounds. Up North before crossing NW 39th Street, the tracks went in both directions--East all the way to the Santa Fe main (passing through Belle Isle)(Penn Square), and West to Warr Acres and Bethany and I suppose on to El Reno. At the switch on the West side of town, the switch just West of Reno Avenue (off the UP main) leads into the only segment of the Oklahoma Railway track still left. When the Oklahoma Railway went out of business in the late 1940's, all the freight trackage in the vicinity of the Stockyards and the Northwest side were sold jointly to the Santa Fe and Rock Island who shared expenses and profits.

I have carried on too long, but could talk for hours and hours about this subject.

The Katy did indeed abandon their line that ran Northeast out of Oklahoma City through Bartlesville and finally winding up at Parsons, Kansas. When this happened, they started running over the Rock Island to McAlester. I am guessing this started in the mid to late 1970's. This operation remained in place until the UP takeover of the Katy in 1988, and then all Oklahoma City traffic came in from El Reno on the former Rock Island.

Hi Ron,

Good info! When are you coming back home?

Jim

I was at Fort Sill, OK when I was in the Army, and the Frisco line through Lawton was still pretty busy when I was there. Is the line through Lawton to Quanah, TX still active? Is it still through all the way, or is it split somewhere? When did the BNSF turn it over to the shortline?

The Rock Island branch to Lawton was still in use when I was at Fort Sill, though it dead ended out near the Lawton Airport. Is that line still there or is it now gone?

zars