Glencoe once had a depot and the radio pole shown in the photo at the left marks the site. The only siding remaining on the Stillwater district outside of Stillwater is located at Glencoe. Note the strange absence of a station sign. The Stillwater local is just west of Glencoe on its way to Stillwater right.
The Stillwater district which was built by the Eastern Oklahoma Railroad in 1899 and 1900 is personally my favorite Santa Fe line, this route is (soon to be was) the last real Santa Fe branch line in Oklahoma. A series of abandonments have made this line a Santa Fe orphan. Before the BNSF merger this line could only be reached by trackage rights from Perry, OK over the Frisco (later purchased by the BN.) This line is a survivor. Even the more heavily used Oklahoma Second District couldn't outlast this line. However, this line is being spun off in 1997 as it is a light density line and the local shippers in Stillwater are slowly turning to trucks. The state of Oklahoma is apparently stepping in to save this route by purchasing it from the BNSF. There is a potential for more industrial development in the city. Unfortunately, its distinction as the last Santa Fe branch line in Oklahoma will pass soon. Truely it is like stepping back into the 1970's to watch this route today. Twice weekly freights still visit Stillwater. One comes in on Sunday's and leaves on Monday. The other comes in on Thursdays and leaves on Fridays. There are three shippers left on-line. A&M Milling Company, National Standard, and Oberlin World Color Press. You won't see any double stacks, auto racks, or red and silver Warbonnets on this route. You will see boxcars (one or two per visit), steel coil gondolas (usually three or four of the Norfolk Southern varitey,) and hopper cars (two to seven of various roads depending on feed season which is usually from November to February.) It is also the last Santa Fe line in Oklahoma to host wig-wag signals. There are two left near the community of Yost. Unfortunately, the third wig-wag was recently replaced with a signal "stolen" from the freshly abandoned Enid District town of Jet. What a pity it is to see this qaint little branch suffer the fate that so many others did in 1980's and 1990's.
Nos. 51 and 52 were doodlebugs which visited this line. A condensed route for these trains follows: Arkansas City on the First District; to Newkirk where they joined the Second district; to Esau Jct. just Northeast of Pawnee where they joined the Stillwater district; to Ripley where they left the Stillwater district and joined the Cushing district; to Cushing where they rejoined the Second District on their way to South Shawnee. Another set of passenger doodlebugs Nos. 57&58 operated to Guthrie into the early 1930's. Guthrie was not always on this passenger route however. There is some evidence that train Nos. 51 & 52 were discontinued as early as 1956.
In May of 1957 a major flood along the Cimarron River washed out the bridge which crossed the Cimarron river at Ripley. The pileings that you see here...
were a part of that bridge. The line south of Stillwater was officially abandoned on May 15, 1957 however I have a train order from May 28, 1957 which reads, "MAIN TRACK OUT OF SERVICE BETWEEN YALE AND CUSHING AND BETWEEN CUSHING AND RIPLEY AND BETWEEN STILLWATER AND 8 POLES EAST OF MP 77 STILLWATER DIST H G W 6:35AM." Why, I don't know. Maybe this was for an engineer that was lost on the trackage that was still in place? The Cushing district was also abandoned on May 15, 1957.
The topography of this route is a good mix. From Easu Jct to Stillwater the line runs through an even split of trees, hills and pasture. South of Stillwater the line used to run through hills and that "sparse blackjack forest again." The line then followed the south bank of the Cimarron river west of Ripley on its way to Guthrie. Of all the abandoned lines I would like to ride this would be number 1 especially the part from Ripley to Guthrie due to the close proximity to the river.
Timetable from August 29, 1942
MP 0.0 Esau Jct.
MP 6.6 Pawnee
MP 8.4 S.L.S.F. Crossing
MP 14.5 Rambo
MP 17.9 Glencoe
MP 22.8 Yost
MP 29.9 Stillwater
MP 37.9 Mehan
MP 40.4 Ripley
MP 45.8 Cottingham
MP 50.4 Perkins (see the book Queen City of the Cimarron)
MP 56.8 Goodnight (see the book Queen City of the Cimarron)
MP 62.1 Coyle
MP 66.9 Pleasant Valley
MP 72.1 Russell
MP 78.1 E. O. Jct.
78.1 miles