| Railroad Name: | Blackwell and Southern Railway |
| Locale: | Oklahoma |
| Start Year: | 1899 |
| End Year: | 1900 |
| Hq City: | Guthrie, Oklahoma |
| Length: | 15.95miles |
The Blackwell and Southern Railway ("B&SR") constructed a rail line running from Braman, Oklahoma to Tonkawa, Oklahoma. The 15.95miles route was built in 1899, and sold to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (AT&SF) in early 1900.
As background, a rail connection had arrived in the town of Hunnewell, Kansas in 1880, giving that locale access to the Kansas City stockyards and beyond.[1] Thus when the separate Kansas and Southeastern Railroad, which had been incorporated in Kansas on August 16, 1897, constructed in 1898 a line from Hunnewell on the Kansas-Oklahoma border south to Braman, about 9.1 miles, Braman became a desirable connection point for other railroads.[2] [3]
Against that framework, The Blackwell and Southern Railway Company was incorporated under the General Laws of the Territory of Oklahoma on June 2, 1899[4] [5] with its headquarters in Guthrie.[6] Utilizing over $150,000 advanced from the AT&SF, the railway built south from Braman through Blackwell-- which had an east/west railroad connection owned by the Hutchinson and Southern Railway-- and continued on to Tonkawa, 15.95 miles in total.[7] [8] The single-track line was completed on August 7, 1899, and was operated by the AT&SF from its first day.[7]
The B&SR was sold to the AT&SF on January 26, 1900.[4] [7] This was just shortly after the AT&SF bought both the Kansas and Southeastern Railroad and the Hutchinson and Southern Railway on December 20, 1899.[4]
The Blackwell-to-Tonkawa segment of the line has since been abandoned, but the Blackwell-to-Braman segment is still in use.[9] [10] It is owned by the Blackwell Industrial Authority and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT), and operated as part of the Blackwell Northern Gateway Railroad.[11]