Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway

The Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway, popularly known as The Orient, was established in 1900 by railroad entrepreneur Arthur Edward Stilwell to run between Wichita, Kansas and Alpine, Texas, with an unrealized plan to reach the Pacific Ocean at Topolobampo, Sinaloa. The standard-gauge line entered bankruptcy in 1912, was reorganized in 1914 and again in 1925, and its receiver William T. Kemper later benefited when oil was discovered beneath its tracks. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway acquired the KCM and O in 1928 mainly to gain access to West Texas oil fields, later selling off its Mexican portions, which eventually became the Chihuahua al Pacifico railroad.