ABILENE AND SOUTHERN RAILWAY. The Abilene and Southern Railway Company was chartered on January 13, 1909, to build from Abilene south to Sonora, about 160 miles. A branch was also proposed from Ballinger northwest to San Angelo, about forty miles. The initial capital for the road was $200,000, and the business office was located in Abilene. Members of the first board of directors included Morgan Jones, Edward S. Hughes,^qqv and J. M. Radford, of Abilene; D. T. Bomar, John W. Broad, and E. H. Holcomb, of Fort Worth; C. A. Doose and C. S. Miller, of Ballinger; and Grenville M. Dodge of Council Bluffs, Iowa.

By 1909 fifty-four miles of track had been laid from Abilene to Ballinger, and in 1911 eighteen miles was built from Anson to Hamlin. The company operated over the Abilene and Northern Railway between Abilene and Anson. In 1916 the company owned seven locomotives, sixty-nine freight cars, seven passenger cars, and three company cars; earnings included $55,838 in passenger revenue, $165,187 in freight revenue, and $2,550 in other revenue.

The road became part of the Texas and Pacific system in 1926. In 1931, when it had four locomotives, fifteen freight cars, and two passenger cars, it earned $1,125 in passenger revenue, $148,385 in freight revenue, and $5,843 in other revenue. The line to Hamlin was abandoned in 1937, and in 1972 the sixteen miles between Winters and Ballinger was abandoned. In 1972 the company rented all of its equipment; its net income was $347,816. The Abilene and Southern was merged into the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company on November 1, 1978.

Chris Cravens