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<p>In 1857, the St. Louis & Iron Mountain Railroad constructed 35 miles of new 5-foot 6-inch gauge railroad, extending from St. Louis near the River des Peres to DeSoto, Missouri. The following year, an additional 45 miles of 5-foot gauge railroad were constructed to Pilot Knob, Missouri. The 5-foot 6-inch gauge segment was converted to 5-foot gauge in 1868. The Arkansas Branch of the St. Louis & Iron Mountain Railroad (ABStL&IM) constructed an additional 98 miles south to the Arkansas Border in 1873. To improve operations with other railroads, the railroad was converted to standard gauge in 1879. The railroads were merged to form a reorganized St. Louis & Iron Mountain Railroad (StL&IM) the following year. By 1883, the railroad was owned by Jay Gould, a railroad magnate who owned nearly 10,000 miles of railroad throughout the United States. Gould owned the Missouri Pacific Railway (MP) system, which this railroad connected to. In 1887, the St. Louis, Oak Hill & Carondelet Railway (StLOH&C) constructed an additional 7 miles of railroad into downtown St. Louis. The StLOH&C was operated by the MP since 1887, and was merged into the MP system in 1887. The StL&IM was merged into the MP in 1917. MP had amassed a large collection of railroad lines, particularly in Missouri and Kansas. This route served as a mainline for the MP, connecting the northern and eastern portions of the system with Arkansas and Louisiana. The railroad reorganized to the Missouri Pacific Railroad in 1917. The MP was merged into the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) in 1982. Today, Union Pacific continues to operate this line between St. Louis and Poplar Bluff as the DeSoto Subdivision.</p>
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