Sand Springs Railway
The Sand Springs Railway (originally the Sand Springs Interurban Railway) is a class III railroad operating in Oklahoma. It was originally formed in 1911 by industrialist Charles Page to connect his newly formed city of Sand Springs to Tulsa, operating both as a passenger carrying interurban and a freight carrier. At Sand Springs, the company also served his children's home, and Page directed all railroad profits to support the home's operations. Passenger service was discontinued January 2, 1955, but the railroad has continued to operate until the present. Following a federal requirement to divest the railroad, in 1987 HMK Inc became the company's new owner, via subsidiary Sheffield Steel, operator of a steel plant served by the railroad. Gerdau Ameristeel Corporation took over the company in 2006. Shortline railroad holding company OmniTRAX purchased the company from Gerdau, which had previously shut down its steel plant in 2009, on July 1, 2014. History Formation and construction The Sand Springs Interurban Railway was incorporated on February 6, 1911, by Charles Page, a wealthy industrialist. Page had previously started a home for needy children at Sand Springs, Oklahoma, in 1908, and the railroad served both the home and the "model city" he planned