Abilene & Southern

Company History: The A&S was established in 1909, eventually building and acquiring lines from Abilene, Texas south to Ballinger and north to Anson and Hamlin for a total of 97 miles. During the First World War, responsibility for running the A&S was transferred to the neighboring Wichita Valley Railroad. It was returned to A&S management after the war. In 1927, a controlling interest in the company was purchased by Texas & Pacific and the Abilene & Southern drifted to the status of semi-autonomous railroad with T&P equipment gradually taking the place of equipment lettered for A&S. Although Texas & Pacific was merged into Missouri Pacific in 1976, the Abilene & Southern continued to exist as a paper railroad through that transaction. A&S officially ceased to exist as a company in 1978. Today, a total of seven miles of the original A&S are still in place between Abilene and a refinery to the south and is switched under contract by Southern Switching Company.

Successor/Parent History: The Texas and Pacific Railway Company (known as the T&P) was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California. The T&P had a significant foothold in Texas by the mid-1880s. Construction difficulties delayed westward progress, until American financier Jay Gould acquired an interest in the railroad in 1879. The T&P never reached San Diego; instead it met the Southern Pacific at Sierra Blanca, Texas, in 1881. The Missouri Pacific Railroad, also controlled by Gould, leased the T&P from 1881 to 1885 and continued a cooperative relationship with the T&P after the lease ended. Missouri Pacific gained majority ownership of the Texas and Pacific Railway's stock in 1928 but allowed it to continue operation as a separate entity until they were eventually merged on October 15, 1976. On January 8, 1980, the Missouri Pacific Railroad was purchased by the Union Pacific Railroad. Because of lawsuits filed by competing railroads, the merger was not approved until September 13, 1982. However, due to outstanding bonds of the Missouri Pacific, the actual merger with the Union Pacific Railroad took place on January 1, 1997.From Wikipedia

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.