View source for Buffalo and Northwestern Railroad

{{Short description|Former railroad line}}
{{Infobox rail
| railroad_name= Buffalo and Northwestern Railroad
| logo_filename=
| logo_size=
| gauge={{track gauge|ussg}}
| old_gauge=
| marks=
| locale=[[Oklahoma]]
| length={{convert|52|mi|km|abbr=on}}
| start_year=1919
| end_year=1920
| hq_city=[[Buffalo, Oklahoma]]
}}
The '''Buffalo and Northwestern Railroad''' was a railway extending from [[Waynoka, Oklahoma]] to [[Buffalo, Oklahoma]], passing through [[Freedom, Oklahoma]].  About 52 miles in length,<ref name=Abandoned>{{cite web|url= http://www.abandonedrails.com/buffalo-district |title=The Buffalo District|publisher=AbandonedRails.com|accessdate=November 15, 2021}}</ref> the line was completed in May, 1920 and sold to another railroad in June, 1920.
==History==
When citizens of [[Harper County, Oklahoma|Harper County]] decided to link their county seat of Buffalo with the railroads,<ref>{{cite web|url= http://genealogytrails.com/oka/harper/countyhistory.html |title=Harper County, Oklahoma, County History|publisher=GenealogyTrails|accessdate=November 15, 2021}}</ref> Waynoka was an appealing destination: that locale had been founded in 1888 on the rail line of a subsidiary of the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]] (AT&SF), and by 1908 it had the largest railyards in Oklahoma.<ref>{{cite web|url=  https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=WA051 |title=Waynoka|publisher=Sandra Barker Olson, Oklahoma Historical Society|accessdate=November 15, 2021}}</ref>  Accordingly, the Buffalo and Northwestern ''Railway'' Company was incorporated in Oklahoma on April 10, 1916. <ref name=Railroads>{{cite web|url=https://digitalprairie.ok.gov/digital/collection/stgovpub/id/504315/rec/1 |title=Railroads of Oklahoma, June 6, 1870-April 1, 1978, p.34|publisher=Oklahoma Department of Transportation, April 1, 1978|accessdate=November 14, 2021}}</ref>  However, that company  was subsequently reorganized, and in its place the Buffalo and Northwestern ''Railroad'' Company was incorporated in Oklahoma on July 18, 1919.<ref name=Railroads/>  Work was pursued on a line from Waynoka, passing through [[Woods County, Oklahoma|Woods]] and [[Woodward County, Oklahoma|Woodward]] countries and into Harper, with the task completed in May, 1920 when the trackage reached Buffalo.<ref name=Abandoned/><ref name=Buffalo>{{cite web|url= https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=BU004 |title=Buffalo|publisher=Maxine Bamburg, Oklahoma Historical Society|accessdate=November 15, 2021}}</ref>  The line was about 52 miles in length.<ref name=Abandoned/>
The town of Freedom was bypassed by the tracks.<ref name=Cowboy>{{cite web|url= https://www.nwosu.edu/uploads//nwics/cimarron-cowboys-assoc-75th-anniversary.pdf |title=75th Anniversary Cimarron Cowboys Association|publisher=Doyle Wardrop and Kay Decker, Ed.D. (accessed on Northwestern Oklahoma State University website)|accessdate=November 15, 2021}}</ref>  However, so important was the railroad that the town relocated to be on the line.<ref name=Cowboy/>
The railroad’s independent existence was short-lived.  The line was purchased by the AT&SF on July 1, 1920.<ref name=Buffalo/> Much later, the AT&SF filed for abandonment of 51 miles of the line, doing so on November 15, 1982.<ref name=Abandoned/>  This has left Buffalo with no rail service.<ref name=OKMap>{{cite web|url= https://www.brokenarrowedc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/State-Rail-Map-2018-2020.pdf |title=Oklahoma 2018-2020 State Railroad Map|publisher=Oklahoma Department of Transportation|accessdate=October 22, 2021}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Oklahoma railroads}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buffalo and Northwestern Railroad}}
[[Category:Oklahoma railroads]]
[[Category:Defunct Oklahoma railroads]]