Jenks Passenger Rail

[Red Arrow]

It appears that some of the ROW just west of Memorial has reverted to agricultural use. There is a bridge missing a little S.E. of Kimberly Clark over a creek feeding the river. A little E of Memorial, what's left of the ROW is pretty tight along some structures. Bixby HS has some athletic fields where the ROW used to be.

I think the ROW was abandonded past Kimberly-Clark. The land has been reclaimed in several areas on the way to Muskogee. Other areas have had the track removed but it is obvious from the air where the track used to run. Several bridges are gone. A few rusty hulks remain.  I couldn't follow it any farther than the west side of Muskogee.

[Transport_Oklahoma]

All the rail and a significant portion of the crossties will have to be replaced from Tulsa anyway.

The rail that is there is probably 1920s vintage or before and is too brittle for main line service.

[railfan955]

  The rail line you are all talking about was at one time the Midland Valley Railroad before it became the Texas & Pacific in 1964 then the Missouri Pacificthen the Union Pacific in 1982. It origionally ran from Witchita, Kansas to Fort Smith, Arkansas. but through the years the line from Witchita, Kansas
to Barnsdall, Oklahoma was pulled up. Then the floods of !986 came , & washed out much of the rail line south of the Kimberly Clark Plant south of Jenks forcing the Union Pacific to abandon it all the way to Muskogee. Then October of 1990 the rail line south of the KC plant was pulled up leaving only the Tulsa to Jenks portion. Then January of 2001 the Union pacific leased the Tulsa portion (south of the Sinclair Refinery) to Jenks to the Tulsa-Sapulpa-Union for the KC plant & other industries on the way down there.

[SXSW]

Midland Valley Railroad from Wikipedia


There is a trail that follows the old Midland Valley ROW from the Pedestrian Bridge up to Hwy. 20 in Skiatook.  The connections through downtown could be better though; I think they should do dedicated bike lanes on Boston Ave. coming off the trail at 19th up to 3rd, then bike lanes through the East End to Greenwood and then north up past the future ballpark through OSU-Tulsa connecting to the bike trail at Jasper.  I believe the portion from just west of the Ped. Bridge to south of Jenks is the last remaining piece of the old MV railroad still in use in NE Oklahoma