Avoyelles Railroad Co. - 1900' dated Unissued Railway Stock Certificate - Became Part of the Texas and Pacific Railway System

Unissued Stock. This railroad operated from 1898 to 1900, then became part of the Texas and Pacific Railway Company (known as the T&P) which was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California.

Under the influence of General Buell, the T&P was originally to be 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge, but this was overturned when the state legislature passed a law requiring 4 ft 8+1?2 in (1,435 mm) gauge.

The T&P had a significant foothold in Texas by the mid-1870s. Construction difficulties delayed westward progress, until American financier Jay Gould acquired an interest in the railroad in 1879. The T&P never reached San Diego; instead it met the Southern Pacific at Sierra Blanca, Texas, in 1881.

The Missouri Pacific Railroad, also controlled by Gould, leased the T&P from 1881 to 1885 and continued a cooperative relationship with the T&P after the lease ended. Missouri Pacific gained majority ownership of the Texas and Pacific Railway's stock in 1928, but allowed it to continue operation as a separate entity until they were eventually merged on October 15, 1976. On January 8, 1980, the Missouri Pacific Railroad was purchased by the Union Pacific Railroad. Because of lawsuits filed by competing railroads, the merger was not approved until September 13, 1982. Due to outstanding bonds of the Missouri Pacific, though, the actual merger with the Union Pacific Railroad took place on January 1, 1997. Read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_and_Pacific_Railway