OKLAHOMA, KANSAS AND TEXAS RAILROAD. The Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas Railroad Company was incorporated on May 29, 1980, as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad Company to acquire part of the Mid-Continent Route of the former Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Company. The company's office was in Dallas while the stock was no par. Members of the first board of directors were Reginald N. Whitman of Rancho Mirage, California; Harold L. Gastler, Karl R. Ziebarth, W. H. Zeidel, Harry T. Dimmerman, and W. A. Thie, all of Dallas; and R. H. Williams and T. G. Todd of Denison. Following the closure of the Rock Island on March 23, 1980, the Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas was organized to acquire and operate that part of the former Rock Island between Dallas and Atchison, Kansas. On May 30, 1980, the Interstate Commerce Commission authorized the OK&T to begin service over the route, which included 127 miles in Texas from Dallas to the Texas-Oklahoma border. The first train operated from Dallas on June 6, 1980. However, the Katy and William M. Gibbons, trustee of the Rock Island, were unable to agree on terms for the purchase of the line, and the OK&T was forced to vacate the property on December 31, 1981. With the aid of the State of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas Rail Users' Association, an agreement was subsequently reached for the purchase of the line. The OK&T resumed service on a slightly shorter route between Dallas and Salina, Kansas, on November 1, 1982. Operations of the OK&T, along with its parent, was consolidated with those of the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company on August 11, 1988. The OK&T was merged into the Missouri-Kansas-Texas on November 30, 1989. During early 1982 when the OK&T was not operating, an independent company known as the North Central Texas Railway, Incorporated, operated that part of the former Rock Island between Dallas to Chico.

George C. Werner