The Osage Railway (/ˈoʊseɪdʒ/OH-sayj) was incorporated in 1921 to accommodate traffic from the oil fields located in the Osage Nation.[1] The first part of its mainline was constructed in 1922 from a connection with the Midland Valley Railroad at Foraker, Oklahoma, to the town of Shidler, Oklahoma, about 10 miles southwest.[2][3] The line was independently owned from the Midland Valley, but was jointly operated with the Midland Valley and two other lines as part of the Muskogee Roads.[1] Beginning July 2, 1923 and completing in early 1924, the Osage Railway's trackage was extended northwesterly from Shidler through Webb City to Lyman, Oklahoma, about another 6 miles.[4][5]
Oil production in the area began to decline in the late 1920s and the start of the Great Depression lowered demand and prices.[6] The railroad managed to survive for a time by prudent management, but the entire line was abandoned in 1953.[1][2]
Osage Railroad
The Osage Railway should not be confused with the Osage Railroad (ORR).[7] That company, a unit of Watco, bought a 35-mile-long rail line between Tulsa and Barnsdall, Oklahoma from the Union Pacific (UP) in 1990.[8] That trackage had been built as part of the Midland Valley in 1905.[8][9] It was included when the Midland Valley was acquired by a subsidiary of the Missouri Pacific Railroad in 1967, and became a UP line when the Missouri Pacific was merged into the UP in 1997.[10][11] But Watco abandoned the line in 2000,[7] and at least part of the route subsequently became a multi-use rail trail.[7][12]
