The history of this branch line is confusing. This line was once a part of the ill fated Oklahoma Central Railroad which ran from Chickasha to Lehigh Oklahoma. The Santa Fe acquired the Oklahoma Central and abandoned the portion from Purcell to Byars and the portion from Ada to Lehigh on December 21, 1934. On July 15, 1963 the Santa Fe abandoned a segment of the Pauls Valley district from South Shawnee to Byars. At about the same time the Santa Fe purchased the Oklahoma City Ada and Atoka Branch from the Missouri Pacific. Ada could now be served from Oklahoma City or Pauls Valley for a period of approximately nine years before the Pauls Valley to Ada Line was abandoned on September 5, 1971.
At the time this timetable was in effect Byars was an important junction point with the Pauls Valley District. Byars showed early great promise. Today it is a ghost town. The downtown square is a study in sadness with its boarded up storefronts. Mixed Trains 85 and 86 operated in the early evening hours from Pauls Valley to Ada. A late evening arrival (10:05pm) in Pauls Valley must have been interesting as most branch line trains operated during the daylight hours.
Timetable from November 29, 1942
miles from Byars
MP 27.9 ADA
MP 15.3 VANOSS
MP 8.6 STRATFORD
MP 0.3 ADA JCT
MP 0.0 BYARS
27.9 miles