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Orient, The By Robert E. Pounds and John B. Mc Call w/ dust jacket KCM&O SEALED
The Orient By Robert E. Pounds and John B. Mc Call
Hard cover with dust jacket
Copyright 2011
344 pages
indexed
313 black & white photos, 39 color photos, 36 maps and diagrams
Kansas City, Mexico & Orient Railway gave form to an old idea held by promoters and entrepreneurs since at least before the American war of secession; that a railroad should be built to link the eastern seaboard of the United States with the deep water port on America's Pacific coast. Ac-inning for this link advanced very little until actual planning for this link advanced very little until a handsome, youthful and gifted salesman by the name Arthur Edward Stilwell claimed it as his own in February 1900.
Stilwell attracted individuals of high quality and achievement, imbued these men with an attitude of enthusiasm and called upon their habits of hard work in degree that usually matched his own. Together, they an enthusiasm for this new railroad by people is route that matched their own intensity and, in some ways, eclipsed it. As they financed and built this railroad through a remote and primitive landscape, Stillwell's team persevered through a series of events impeded his ambitions in a major way.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Preface: Stilwell Comes To Kansas City
1. The Orient Is Born
2.Building the Orient: The First Ten Years
3.Building the Orient Through Revolution and Bankruptcy
4.Federal Control And Texas Oil
5.Kemper Finds A Buyer
Epilogue
A Look Back
Appendix A: Station List
Appendix B: Rosters
Index
History/Texas, Oklahoma and Mexico/Railroad
The dream of promoter Arthur Edward Stilwell, the Kansas City, Mexico & Orient Railway never made it to Kansas City and never made connections with the Oriental trade. Financed without the aide of Wall Street "money trusts," the railroad was constructed in many disconnected sections in Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas and the states of Sinaloa and Chihuahua in Mexico. Attempts to link the already-built line from the Mexican seaport of Topolobampo, Sirialoa, with the rest of the system were halted by the formidable Sierra Madre and revolutionary activities in Mexico. And in the United States, progress was slow, due to lack of funds. In fact, Stilwell lost control of the railway in 1912 and it was in the hands of receivers more than once. Were it not for the discovery of oil in west Texas in the 'twenties, the KCM&O might not have survived to the Depression. As it was, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway bought it in 1928, completed some of the lines in Texas, and waited for improving business conditions that never came. Under Santa Fe stewardship, the leisurely pace of railroading on the Orient continued with short local trains calling at quaint little depots where the use of morse code and telegraph wire continued into the age of radio and computers. Authors Pounds and McCall cover the story of The Orient in rich detail-how Stilwell's financing schemes and optimism in the face of overwhelming obstacles defy imagination, how over the course of its long history, the Orient founded, or stimulated development of dozens of communities and weaved itself into the lives of residents in the territory in which it was built, and how the railroad survived in one form or another into the 21st century. A must read for those interested in the history of the Santa Fe Railway, the southwest and Mexico.
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