North Central Texas

Company History: The NCTR was established in January of 1982 to take over operation of the former Rock Island line from Fort Worth, northwest 49 miles to Chico, Texas. After the collapse of the Rock Island, the ICC directed Missouri-Kansas-Texas to serve this line under their Oklahoma Kansas & Texas subsidiary but their heart wasn’t in it and they were happy to turn it over to the new operator. The NCTR lasted until Halloween day of that same year before closing down. The line was then returned to OK&T operation.

Successor/Parent History: 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.

Brief History: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.