The Wichita Falls and Northwestern Railway, its affiliate the Northwestern Railway Company of Texas, and two subsidiaries collectively constructed a railway running from Wichita Falls, Texas through Altus, Oklahoma to Forgan, Oklahoma, with a branch running from Altus to Wellington, Texas.[1] The network comprised 359.3 miles of track, and was collectively known as the Wichita Falls Route.[1]
History
The original plan was for a line extending north from Wichita Falls through Indian Territory to Englewood, Kansas.[1] Toward that goal, two companies were chartered: the Wichita Falls and Northwestern Railway Company of Texas on September 26, 1906, to construct the seventeen-mile stretch from Wichita Falls to the Red River, and a few days later the Wichita Falls and Northwestern Railway Company to do the rest.[1] However, plans changed and the northern segment was redirected to Frederick, Altus, Elk City, and on to Forgan in the Oklahoma Panhandle.[1]
The directors also decided on a branch going west from Altus to Wellington in the Texas Panhandle.[1] That branch was to be built by subsidiaries of the Wichita Falls and Northwestern Railway.[2] The Wichita Falls and Wellington Railway Company of Texas constructed the portion in Texas, and the Altus, Wichita Falls and Hollis Railway Company did the Oklahoma portion.[2]
The trackage to Altus, both from Wellington and from Wichita Falls, was completed in 1910.[1][2][3] The continuation to Forgan was finished in 1912.[2]
The stock of all the companies was acquired by the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway (MKT) system in 1911.[1] The Wichita Falls and Northwestern Railway was merged into the MKT in 1923, with the Wichita Falls and Northwestern Railway Company of Texas following in 1969.[1] The Wellington branch was merely leased by an MKT affiliate until that trackage was abandoned in 1958.[2]
The remaining line to Forgan was cut back to Altus in 1973, leaving approximately 77 miles of trackage from Wichita Falls to Altus.[1] In June 1982, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) acquired the 61.02 miles of trackage between Altus and the Oklahoma/Texas state line,[4] while the UP ended up with the line from the border to Wichita Falls.[5] In early 1991, the Wichita, Tillman and Jackson Railway (WTJR), a brand new company, separately leased both segments of the line.[5][4] and started service January 14, 1991.[6] The Lease on the Union Pacific segment was renewed in 2010, and again in 2016 for 10 years.[5] The Oklahoma segment was purchased by WTJR from ODOT around the end of 2010.[4]