Oklahoma Railway Company

The Oklahoma Railway Company (ORy) operated interurban lines to El Reno, Guthrie, and Norman, and several streetcar lines in Oklahoma City, and the surrounding area from 1904 to 1947.[2]

Oklahoma Railway Company
Overview
HeadquartersOklahoma City, Oklahoma
LocaleOklahoma, United States of America
Dates of operation1904–1947
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification600 V DC
Length74 miles (interurban routes)[1]

Freight traffic was also handled on the interurban lines as well as a few of the streetcar lines. The railway had a connection with the Fort Smith and Western Railroad at Guthrie and the two companies interchanged freight cars there.

As World War II approached, the company began to shift focus away from interurban/streetcar operation towards buses; as a result, the company began to gradually abandon its rail operations. As part of this action, several line segments were leased, then sold to the Santa Fe and the Rock Island.

Oklahoma Belt Railroad

Separately, the Oklahoma Belt Railroad (OBR) was incorporated January 11, 1917, with its main office in Oklahoma City.[3][4] Between February and August of that year, construction had been done on its behalf of 3.848 miles of main tracks plus 1.010 miles of yard tracks and sidings for 4.858 miles total, to provide switching and terminal services between the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad (Katy) terminal and the Oklahoma City stockyards.[3][4] The building was actually done by the Katy, and the OBR trackage was both leased to and operated by the Katy from its first day.[4]

The OBR line was later leased to ORy on April 20, 1928, eff May 1, 1929, as part of ORy’s push to de-emphasize passengers and develop a more serious carload freight business.[3][5] The ORy subsequently became the OBR’s sole owner.[3] But all ORy freight operations were discontinued August 16, 1944.[6]

References
  1. "The Official Guide to the Railways" (JPG). September 1934. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  2. Kim K. Bender (1994). "Oklahoma City's First Mass Transit System" (PDF). The Chronicles of Oklahoma. Oklahoma Historical Society. 72 (2): 139–159. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  3. "Oklahoma Belt Railroad Company". Railroads of Oklahoma, June 6, 1870-April 1, 1978 (accessed on Oklahoma DigitalPrairie). Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  4. "Valuation Docket No. 828, Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Company et al". 1931. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  5. "Interurbans, Classic American Streetcars". American-Rails.com. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  6. "Oklahoma Railway Company" (PDF). Railroad Retirement Board (accessed on GovInfo.gov). Retrieved April 2, 2023.


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