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<p>In 1895, the Southwestern Mineral Railway Company would construct a 17 mile railroad line, extending from Cherokee Junction (Labette), Kansas to Mineral, Kansas. The railroad was merged into the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway (MKT) in 1896. Between 1900 and 1901, the Missouri, Kansas & Northwestern Railroad Company (MK&NW) constructed an additional 29 miles into Joplin, Missouri. The MK&NW would be sold to the MKT the following year. The MKT had constructed a sizable railroad network throughout Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. This line provided direct access from the major junction at Parsons with terminals at Joplin. In 1923, the MKT reorganized as the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad. A portion of the line between Cherokee Junction and Columbus was abandoned in 1979. In 1988, the MKT was merged into Union Pacific Railroad (UP). As UP sought to shed excess lines from the MKT, the Columbus to east of Galena, Kansas segment was sold to Burlington Northern Railroad, and the remainder of the line abandoned. In 1996, BN merged with Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway to form BNSF Railway. Today, BNSF operates the remaining portion of the line as the Joplin Branch. <br></p>
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