Reporting mark MV Headquarters Muskogee Successor Texas and Pacific Railway | Dates of operation 1903–1964 Founded 1903 | |
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Locale Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma Track gauge 4 ft 8 ⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge | ||
The Midland Valley Railroad (MV) was incorporated on June 4, 1903 for the purpose of building a line from Hope, Arkansas, through Muskogee and Tulsa, Oklahoma to Wichita, Kansas. It was backed by C. Jared Ingersoll, a Philadelphia industrialist who owned coal mining properties in Indian Territory (now part of the state of Oklahoma). The railroad took its name from Midland, Arkansas, a coal mining town in western Arkansas, which was served by the railroad. The Midland Valley gained access to Fort Smith, Arkansas via trackage rights over the Frisco from Rock Island, Oklahoma.
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In 1967, the Midland Valley Railroad was merged into the Texas & Pacific Railroad, which was absorbed by the Missouri Pacific Railroad in 1983. Midland Valley is now extinct.
History
MV completed construction of its initial system in 1906. It constructed a branch to the Glenn Pool oil field, which generated a lot of traffic and stimulated MV's revenues. MV extended the line as far as Kiefer, but closed the Glenn Pool-Kiefer section in 1936. Competition from other railroads caused a decline in MV's fortunes, especially during the Great Depression.
Muskogee, Oklahoma, was home to the Midland Valley's headquarters and shops. In 1925, the Midland Valley acquired the Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway. Both railroads were owned by the Muskogee Company, a holding company, which purchased a third railroad Oklahoma City-Ada-Atoka Railway in 1929. Muskogee Company was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
End of the line
All three railroads were operated as more or less common property by the Muskogee Company until sale of all three to the Missouri Pacific Railroad (MoPac) in 1964. The Midland Valley was merged into the Texas & Pacific Railroad (T&P), a MoPac subsidiary on April 1, 1967. MoPac merged into the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) in 1983. Operated as branchlines for a number of years, most of the Midland Valley has now been abandoned.