Mississippi River and Bonne Terre Railway

The Mississippi River & Bonne Terre Railway (M.R. & B.T.) was a single-track standard-gauge steam railroad that was located in southeastern Missouri and began service in 1892. It extended from Riverside in a general southwesterly direction to the lead-mining field in St. Francois County. The main stem, from Riverside to Doe Run, was 46.492 miles (74.822 km) long. Eight short branch lines had a total trackage of 17.418 miles (28.032 km). Sidings and spurs aggregated 30.664 miles (49.349 km), and all tracks owned 94.574 miles (152.202 km).

The minerals and supplies of the St. Joseph Lead Co., which operated one of the world-leading lead mines, were transported until 1880 on animal-drawn wagons between the mines and the St. Louis and Iron Mountain Railway. In 1880 the St. Joseph Lead Company laid the track a 10 miles (16 km) long narrow gauge railroad with a gauge of 3 feet (910 mm). It was inaugurated on 18 January 1880 and became known as the St. Joseph & Des Loge Railway. It was used to transport goods westerly from Bonne Terre to Summit, a point on the line of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Company, but the mine products of the St. Joseph Lead Company had still to be hauled for 18 miles (29 km) by ox-team from the mines to Bonne Terre. The narrow-gauge line was apparently jointly owned by the St. Joseph Lead Company and the Desloge Company. It was removed after the M.R. & B.T.'s property was placed in service. The cost was split between both companies: The St. Joe paid 66% and the Desloge Company paid 33%. The St. Joe Lead Company acquired in 1887 the assets of the Desloge Lead Company, and tried to find a shorter route, to reduce the transportation cost.

The M.R. & B.T. was incorporated for a term of 50 years on May 11, 1888, under the provisions of Chapter 21, Articles 1 and 2, of the revised statutes of Missouri. The incorporators were nominees of the St. Joseph Lead Company. The avowed purpose of the corporation was to construct, operate, and maintain a standard or broad gauge railroad, extending in a northerly direction from Bonne Terre, St. Francois County, through St. Francois and Jefferson Counties, in Missouri, to a point on the Mississippi River now known as Riverside. The proposed line was 30 miles (48 km) long, and the authorized capital stock had the value of $10,000 per mile, or $300,000.

...
Wikipedia