 Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, 1860 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Locale | Missouri |
| Dates of operation | 1846–1883 |
| Successor | Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
The Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad was the first railroad to cross Missouri starting in Hannibal in the northeast and going to St. Joseph, Missouri, in the northwest. It is said to have carried the first letter to the Pony Express on April 3, 1860, from a train pulled behind the locomotive Missouri.
The line connected the second and third largest cities in the state of Missouri prior to the American Civil War. The stage route that it paralleled had previously been called the "Hound Dog Trail".