South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad

South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad (reporting mark SKOL) is a short line railroad which operates 730.34 miles (1,175.37 km) of rail lines in Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri that used to belong to Missouri Pacific, Frisco and Santa Fe lines. SKOL is a unit of Watco.

South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad
#102, an EMD GP7 still in Southeast Kansas Railroad markings.
Overview
HeadquartersCherryvale, Kansas
Reporting markSKOL
LocaleKansas, Missouri and Oklahoma
Dates of operation1991–
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Length511 miles (822 km)

History

Southeast Kansas Railroad

The Southeast Kansas Railroad (“SEKR”), incorporated in Kansas on March 17, 1987, became Watco’s first short line.[1][2] The railway ran about 104 miles from Coffeyville, Kansas to near Nevada, Missouri, at which point it had a connection with the Union Pacific. [3]

SKOL

The South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad was formed under Kansas Law on November 9, 1990.[4] It originally acquired 287 miles of rail lines from the Santa Fe.[5] SEKR ended up merged into SKOL effective January 1, 1999.[6] The line has gone through a number of subsequent acquisitions, leases and abandonments.[5] The current SKOL encompasses 730.34 miles of track.[7]

A Southern Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad locomotive parked in Pittsburg, Kansas.

Interchanges

SKOL has interchange points at: Coffeyville, KS- UP; Columbus, KS – BNSF; Pittsburg, KS – CPKC; Wichita, KS – KO; Winfield, KS – BNSF & UP; Tulsa, OK – BNSF, SLWC, & UP via BNSF; and, Tulsa Port of Catoosa, OK – PC.[7]

Rail lines

Rail lines of the present SKOL include:[5]

  1. Tulsa, Oklahoma to Humboldt, Kansas,
  2. Cherryvale, Kansas to Oxford, Kansas,
  3. Cherryvale to Sherwin, Kansas to Liberal, Missouri,
  4. Cherryvale to Coffeyville, Kansas,
  5. Sherwin to Columbus, Kansas,
  6. Owasso, Oklahoma to Catoosa, Oklahoma and Tulsa Ports.[8]
    The last hopper car on the South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad in Owasso, Oklahoma, December 28, 2021

The only part of the former SEKR system that still operates is Sherwin to Liberal.[5]

SKOL was honored as Regional Railroad of the Year for 2008 by rail industry magazine Railway Age.[9]

References
  1. "Business Entity Search (using Southeast Kansas Railroad as the search term)". State of Kansas, Office of the Secretary of State. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  2. "Statement from Pat Cedeno, WATCO Companies in Favor of HB 2460" (PDF). Kansas Legislature, February 3, 2020.
  3. "Southeast Kansas Railroad Looks to Give Shippers a Lift". Journal of Commerce, January 1, 1991. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  4. "Business Entity Search (using South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad as the search term)". State of Kansas, Office of the Secretary of State. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  5. "South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad SKOL #701". Union Pacific. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  6. "Employer Status Determination, Southeast Kansas Railroad, Inc" (PDF). Railroad Retirement Board, April 4, 2001. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  7. "South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad (SKOL)". Watco. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  8. "Transloading". Tulsa Ports. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  9. Bronson, Carol (2008-03-21). "Watco earns accolades for rails". Pratt Tribune. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2008-03-25.

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