www.CottonBeltRoute.com
Preserving the Legacy of the railroads throughout Ark-La-Miss-Tex-oma's Cotton Belt Region

 

St.L.S-W. L-1 Steam Engine #819, Mt. Pleasant, TX, Nov. 6, 1988
Jason Lee Davis photo

www.CottonBeltRoute.com

Dedicated to preserving and honoring the history and legacy of the railroads and railroad employees that operated throughout the geographical region known as the "Cotton Belt" region of the Ark-La-Miss-Tex-oma area, including, but not limited to, the former St. Louis Southwestern Railway.

Harley Davis working "The Dog" in Big Sandy, Texas in 1960.
Estellene Davis photo

This website and associated events are presented in the interest of citizenship, service learning, historical stewardship, civic responsibility, and community outreach in alignment with the university's mission by Dr. Jason Lee Davis and East Texas A&M University.

The Annual
Cotton Belt REGIONAL
Railroad Symposium

Held annually on the
first Saturday in August.

19th Annual Symposium: 
August 2, 2025

East Texas A&M University
Commerce, Texas

Symposium Information & Luncheon Reservations

Please join us for the next free, public event to highlight, document, and preserve the legacy of the railroads operating throughout northeast Texas and the geographical Ark-La-Miss-Tex-oma Region historically referred to as the "Cotton Belt."

Commerce Union Depot, circa 1910
Commerce Public Library Collection | used with permission

The recognized railroads of the Ark-La-Tex-oma's Cotton Belt Region, include, but are not limited to:

Arkansas & Choctaw (A&C)
Arkansas, Louisiana, & Mississippi (AL&M)
Arkansas Short Line (ASL)
Arkansas & Southern (AR&S)
Atchison, Topika, & Santa Fe (ATSF)
Blacklands (BLR)
Blytheville, Leachville, & Arkansas Southern (BL&AS)
Burlington Northern (BN)
Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF)
Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC)
Carnation Belt, Sulphur Bluff, & Pacific
Central Arkansas & Eastern (CAR&E)
Chaparral
Chicago, Rock Island, & Pacific (CRI&P)
Claiborne-Polk Military Railroad
Dallas, Ft. Worth, & Gulf (DFtW&G)
Dallas, Garland, & Northeastern (DGNO)
Dallas Terminal Railway & Union Depot Co. (DTR&UD)
DeQueen & Eastern (DQ&E)
East Line & Red River Narrow Gauge (EL&RR)
Eastern Texas Railroad (ETXR)
Fordyce & Princeton
Ft. Worth & Denver (FW&D)
Gulf, Colorado, & Santa Fe (GC&SF)
Henderson-Overton Branch (HOB)
Houston & Shreveport
Houston & Texas Central (H&TC)
International & Great Northern (IGN)
Kansas & Gulf Short Line (K&GSL)
Kansas City, Mexico, & Orient (KCM&O)
Kansas City, Pittsburg, & Gulf
Kansas City Southern (KCS)
Kiamichi (KRR)
Little Rock & Ft. Smith
Louisiana & Arkansas (L&A)
Louisiana Railroad & Navigation Company (LR&N)
Marshall & East Texas (M&ET)
Marshall, Elysian Fields, & Southeastern (MEF&SE)
Marshall & Northwestern
Memphis & Little Rock (M&LR)
Missouri, Arkansas, & Southern (MA&SA)
Missouri-Kansas-Texas (MKT, The Katy)
Missouri Pacific (MP, MoPac)
Morton, Maurice, & Baer's Ferry (MM&BF)
North East Texas Connector (NETC)
Oklahoma & Rich Mountain (O&RM)
Paragould & Buffalo Island (PAR&BI)
Paragould Southeastern (PAR&SE)
Paris, Marshall, & Sabine Pass
Paris & Mt. Pleasant (P&MP)
Pine Bluff & Arkansas River (PB&AR)
Pine Bluff & Eastern (PB&E)
Pine Bluff, Monroe, & New Orleans (PBM&NO)
Red River & Gulf
Sherman, Shreveport, & Southern (SS&S)
Shreveport Bridge & Terminal Co. (SB&T)
Southwestern Transportation Co. (SSWT)
St. Louis, Arkansas, & Texas (StLA&T)
St. Louis, Iron Mountain, & Southern (StLIM&S)
St. Louis-San Francisco (SLSF, Frisco)
St. Louis South-western (StLS~W, SSW, Cotton Belt Route)
St. Louis Southwerstern of Texas (StLSWT)
St. Louis, Texas, & Arkansas
Stephenville North & South Texas (SN&ST)
Stuttgart & Arkansas River (SG&AR)
Southern Pacific (SP)
Texarkana & Fort Smith
Texas Interurban
Texas & Louisianna
Texas Midland (TM)
Texas & New Orleans (T&NO)
Texas Northeastern (TNER)
Texas & Pacific (T&P)
Texas & St. Louis (T&StL)
Texas Southern
Tyler Southeastern (TYSE)
Tyler Tap (TTAP)
Union Pacific (UP)
Union Terminal (UTD)
Vicksburg, Shreveport, & Pacific
Winnsboro & Gilmer
Wrape, Bertig Brothers, & Harmon (WBB&H)

A free, annual, public event at tamuc celebrating railroad heritage and the legacy of the St. Louis Southwestern Railway and other railroads of the Northeast-Texas and Ark-La-Tex-oma region.