 | |
 Gulf Coast Lines system map, circa 1920 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | New Orleans[1] and Houston, Texas[2] |
| Locale | Louisiana and Texas |
| Dates of operation | February 28, 1916–March 1, 1956 |
| Successor | Missouri Pacific Railroad |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
The Gulf Coast Lines was the name of a railroad system comprising three principal railroads, as well as some smaller ones, that stretched from New Orleans, Louisiana, via Baton Rouge and Houston to Brownsville, Texas. Originally chartered as subsidiaries of the Frisco Railroad, the system became independent in 1916 and was purchased by the Missouri Pacific Railroad in 1925.[3]
The parent company of the independent Gulf Coast Lines was the New Orleans, Texas and Mexico Railway, incorporated in Louisiana on February 28, 1916, which bought the property and assets of the Frisco-owned New Orleans, Texas and Mexico Railroad. The NOT&M was headquartered in New Orleans, and owned or leased a number of other railroads in Louisiana and Texas, operating them all together as the Gulf Coast Lines. As of December 31, 1916, the total trackage operated by the Gulf Coast Lines system was 1,013 miles (1,630 km), including branches, sidings, trackage rights, and leased lines.[4]
- ^ Poor's Intermediate Manual of Railroads. New York: Poor's Manual Company. 1917. pp. 601–606.
- ^ Official Guide of the Railways. New York: National Railway Publication Company. September 1955. p. 735.
- ^ "MoPac's First 125 Years". Missouri Pacific: A History of Color. Missouri Pacific Historical Society. Archived from the original on 9 April 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
- ^ Poor's Intermediate Manual of Railroads. New York: Poor's Manual Company. 1917. pp. 601–606.