St. Louis–Ottumwa The North Missouri Railroad was incorporated on March 3, 1851. Construction commenced in 1854, with the company building westward from
St. Louis, Missouri. The first segment, from St. Louis to the east bank of the
Missouri River opposite
St. Charles, Missouri, opened on August 2, 1855. The railroad was built to a broad gauge. The line reached
Macon, Missouri, in 1859, from St. Louis. At Macon, the company interchanged with the
standard gauge Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad. The
American Civil War broke out on April 12, 1861. Missouri, a
border state, was the
site of intense warfare for the next four years.
Isaac H. Sturgeon, president of the North Missouri Railroad, required railroad employees to swear a loyalty oath to the Union, and the railroad transported Union soldiers during the war. The railroad was damaged repeatedly during the war the site of several battles, including the
Centralia Massacre, in which two dozen unarmed Union soldiers traveling aboard a North Missouri Railroad train were executed by Confederate guerilla force led by
William T. Anderson. Following the conclusion of the
American Civil War in 1865, the company resumed expansion. In 1867, the company
converted its broad gauge line to standard gauge. Another major effort was the bridging of the Missouri River at St. Charles and eliminating the ferry service there. Begun in 1868, the bridge (later replaced by the
Wabash Bridge) was opened on May 29, 1871. The company extended its main line from Macon to
Coatsville, Missouri, on the
Iowa border. This extension opened at the end of 1868. The North Missouri leased the
St. Louis and Cedar Rapids Railway, an Iowa company, in 1868. The company completed a line between Coatsville and
Ottumwa, Iowa, in 1870. At Ottumwa they interchanged with the
Burlington and Missouri River Railroad, a forerunner of the
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. The
Norfolk and Western Railway, successor to the Wabash, abandoned the northern end of the line between Ottumwa and
Moulton, Iowa, in 1982.
Moberly–Kansas City Separately, the company began building a new branch from
Moberly, Missouri westward towards
Kansas City, Missouri. The line was completed to
Brunswick, Missouri, at the end of 1867, and to
Birmingham, Missouri (near
Kansas City) and a junction with the
Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad in 1868. From Birmingham, the North Missouri operated over the
Kansas City and Cameron Railroad to
North Kansas City, Missouri. Access to Kansas City proper followed in 1869 when the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad completed the
Hannibal Bridge over the Missouri River.
Brunswick–Pattonsburg The company also leased several lines with the goal of establishing its own route to
Omaha, Nebraska. In 1867 it leased the
Chillicothe and Brunswick Railroad, which was building a line from Brunswick northwest to
Chillicothe, Missouri. This line opened in 1871. In 1871, the North Missouri leased the
St. Louis, Council Bluffs and Omaha Railroad, which owned a line between Chillicothe and
Pattonsburg, Missouri.
Centralia–Columbia The North Missouri leased the
Boone County and Jefferson City Railroad in 1866, and through that company constructed a branch line from
Centralia, Missouri, to
Columbia, Missouri. This branch opened in 1867. Columbia acquired the branch from the
Norfolk Southern Railway in 1987 and it is operated by the
Columbia Terminal Railroad.
Bankruptcy The North Missouri Railroad entered bankruptcy in 1871 and was sold to
Morris Ketchum Jesup, who reorganized it as the
St. Louis, Kansas City and Northern Railway in 1872. At the time of reorganization the company owned of track and leased a further . == Notes ==