Oklahoma Central Railway

Oklahoma Central Railway Now abandoned, the Oklahoma Central Railway operated a 127 mile railroad from Lehigh to Chickasha vi

Organized by Dorset Carter in 1905, the Oklahoma Central Railway was constructed to connect the coal mines of Coal County with the Gulf, Corlorado and Santa Fe's division point services in Purcell. Although construction was financed as an independent venture by Dutch venture capital, history indicates that Carter's intention from the very beginning was for the line to be absorbed into the Santa Fe

's system as a branch line. However, the adoption of the Oklahoma constitution at statehood in 1907 specifically barred established railroad companies from buying new lines built within the borders of the state, and Carter's plans to sell were thwarted. The struggling line went into receivership in 1908, and it was not until 1914, after promoting three elections to alter the law, that Carter succeeded in amending the state's constitution to allow the sale of the line to the Santa Fe. The worst end of the deal went to the misled Dutch financiers, who received only 25 cents for every $1,000 bond they had put up for the project. Finally, on August 1st, 1914, the bankrupt line was absorbed by the Santa Fe. Its tracks were abandoned in stages, with the last segment - the Byars to Ada line - removed in 1971.

09/27/2018

It has come to our attention that the Town of Stratford has taken bids to demolish, remove, or relocate the former Oklahoma Central Depot that has been used for several years as a town hall. We'll post the outcome of that solicitation and provide an update on the fate of the building. It has been in sad shape for a number of years with several leaks in the roof and may not be worth saving.

"For almost 40 years, Veenendaal worked as senior research scholar at the Institute of Netherlands History in The Hague....
07/26/2017

"For almost 40 years, Veenendaal worked as senior research scholar at the Institute of Netherlands History in The Hague. His office was next door to the national archives, and he discovered there a small personal collection from an engineer named Gerrit Middelberg.

“I found letters that he wrote from Oklahoma of all places. It turns out that he was visiting the Oklahoma Central Railway that was then being built but being financed from the Netherlands. The banker who had organized the finances asked Middelberg to go and inspect ... so he started in Chickasha, went on to Purcell and ended up in Lehigh, Oklahoma, and wrote letters home,” he said.

“There is a little town ... in Grady County named Middleberg, and it’s named after him because it’s on the line of the Oklahoma Central. But it’s spelled wrong ... because that’s how the Americans do it.”"

APR 17, 2017 - Exhibit tracks Oklahoma's railroad connections Dutch historian's latest book, “Smoke Over Oklahoma: The Railroad Photographs of Preston George,” is both a visually stunning history lesson and a tribute to a friend who shared his passion for the smoke and power of steam locomotives. Th...

OC's crossing of Walnut Creek and interchange with parent Santa Fe at Purcell. In the woods north of the road, the ties...
06/30/2017

OC's crossing of Walnut Creek and interchange with parent Santa Fe at Purcell. In the woods north of the road, the ties are rotting away. A decade ago rails were still in place. Behind the old Hi-Test plant, stubs of the trestle bents are still in the brush if you brave the briars and ticks to go see them.

Not sure about the round ruins in the woods next to the creek, these may be part of the original Purcell Water Works, which like were also built by the OC's President, Dorset Carter.

Purcell Depot, 1907. Courtesy Jim Stroud.
11/14/2016

Purcell Depot, 1907. Courtesy Jim Stroud.

05/27/2016

As part of preserving the history of the OCRR and other southeast Oklahoma industrial heritage, we'd like to start assembling book notes for the coal mines of Coal County. Most of these are now on private land. If you can get the word out - we'd like to get in touch with landowners who have some of these heritage sites to arrange for documentation. Your help is appreciated!!!!

05/23/2016

Talk is circulating of a possible end to end aerial survey of the right of way. Maybe this fall, when the leaves aren't obscuring the grade.

Across the river from Byars sits tiny Wanette, a little stop on the Santa Fe where I lived when I was a baby for a time....
03/29/2016

Across the river from Byars sits tiny Wanette, a little stop on the Santa Fe where I lived when I was a baby for a time. If you stop by there now you would hardly believe anything was ever happening there, but in 1906 their downtown area looked like this.

02/26/2016

Planning this spring on doing another end to end survey of the right of way at its accessible points. Don't have much in the way of photographs of our little line since it was around so briefly, but we can at least get some up to date "now" shots. Will repost some of them on the group Abandoned Rails.

Address

Formerly At 201 W Main
Purcell, OK
73080

Telephone

+14053152753

Website

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