The Fort Worth and Denver Northern Railway Company was chartered by the Burlington system on May 20, 1929. The road was to build from Childress north to Shamrock in Wheeler County and then northwest to Pampa in Gray County, a distance of 110 miles.

The initial capital was $110,000, and the business office was in Childress. Members of the first board of directors included John A. Hulenqv of Houston; F. E. Williamson and C. E. Spens, both from Chicago, Illinois; and Khleber M. Van Zandt,qv F. E. Clarity, T. B. Yarbrough, J. H. Barwise, W. C. Logan, and W. O. Hamilton, all from Fort Worth.

The 110 miles of track from Childress north to Shamrock in Wheeler County and then northwest to Pampa in Gray County was completed on July 15, 1932. The road was leased to the Fort Worth and Denver City for operation and merged into that company on June 13, 1952. The section between Wellington and Pampa was abandoned in 1970.

Chris Cravens

(information from The Handbook of Texas Online --
a multidisciplinary encyclopedia of Texas history, geography, and culture.)

Back to Gray County

This page was last updated January 31, 2003.