Information Sheet

 

 

R         Cassville & Exeter Railway Company.

421                  Papers, 1909‑1976.

                                    Five folders, photocopies.

 

 

 

These are papers concerning a short-line railroad which connected the towns of Cassville and Exeter in Barry County, Missouri, begun as the Cassville & Western Railway in 1896 and reor­ganized as the C&E in 1919.  The collection includes letters, documents, clippings, and pho­to­graphs.

 

The Cassville & Exeter Railway was incorporated and built as the Cassville & Western Rail­way Company in 1896.  It connected the Barry County, Missouri, seat of Cassville with the St. Louis & San Francisco (“Frisco”) Railroad at the small community of Exeter, five miles to the west.  Often, although probably erroneously, called “the shortest standard gauge railroad in the world,” it carried local freight and passengers until its abandonment for economic reasons in 1956.

 

The short‑line’s greatest fame came after it failed financially and was re‑organized as the Cassville & Exeter Railway Company in 1919.  Locally owned and operated by the Dingler and Ault families, the road gained a national reputation for the brief extent of its right‑of‑way and the friendliness of its employees.  Particularly popular was company president and locomotive engi­neer David Dingler, who managed the line from 1919 until his death in 1939.  The “C&E” was the subject of many feature articles in newspapers and magazines.

 

During and after World War II the line’s roadbed deteriorated and business declined until service was suspended in 1949.  After a hiatus of several months the Dingler family, which had bought out the Aults, attracted new investors to the company, led by Dr. Arthur P. Wheelock of Des Moines, Iowa, but including some local citizens.  Repairs were made and the road resumed operations on an irregular basis until its final trip in September 1956.

 

This collection is comprised of three pieces of correspondence, including a letter from Rob­ert L. Ripley of “Believe It or Not” fame in 1931; six documents, including a promissory note and a warranty deed concerning the line’s re‑organization in 1919; 26 newspaper articles, including a history of the road written by Irene Horner; four magazine articles; and 25 photo­graphs, includ­ing views of an unsuccessful electrification project in 1909, employees, engines, rolling stock (a pas­senger coach), and the depot at Cassville.

 

 

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