A group of seven plus one railroads using printed precancels can be classified as "Gould Railroads", or railroads that were taken over by Jay Gould prior to his death in 1892, and subsequently controlled by his sons, in particular George Gould, through and beyond the 1898 tax period. Those railroads include:
- MOPAC System: The Missouri Pacific Railway (The Mo. Pac. Ry. Co.)
- MOPAC System: St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway (ST. L. I. M. & S. RY)
- The Kansas City Northwestern Railroad (The K. C. N. W. R. R.)
- Cotton Belt Route: St. Louis, Southwestern Railway (ST. L. S. W. RY. CO.)
- Cotton Belt Route: St. Louis, Southwestern Railway of Texas (ST. L. S. W. RY. CO. OF TEX.)
- Cotton Belt Route: Tyler Southeastern Railway (T. S. E. RY. CO.)
- International & Great Northern Railroad (I & G N R R)
- + an oddly affiliated railroad that was not Gould controlled: The Memphis Route: The Kansas City, Fort Scott & Memphis Railroad
Below are examples of the eight collectible Gould or Gould associated railroads that printed and used precancels. At the end is an example of a potential discovery to be made, a major Gould railroad that was integrated into the larger Gould operations but for which to date, no precancels are yet known.
Following this post, in the coming days, will be an exploration of the cancels and collectible types of each of these railroads.
The Missouri Pacific Railway Sytem
The Missouri Pacific Railway
The Missouri Pacific was the Gould's flagship railroad, and a railroad that remained independent until the late 20th century. By the time the railroad was absorbed into the Union Pacific, it actually had more locomotives and track miles than the UP itself. The MOPAC printed precancels on the one and two cent battleships. Like all the Gould railroads, there was Gould presence in the railroad's senior managment.
MOPAC printed precancel
Poor's Manual of Railroads, 1899:
George Gould was the President of The MOPAC, while Edwin and Howard Gould were on its Board of Directors.
St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway
The St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern was an integrated railroad of the MOPAC system, and participated in using printed precancels. Their precancels are only known on the one cent battleship stamp.
StLIM&SRY printed precancel
from Poor's Manual of Railroads, 1901:
George Gould was the President of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern, Frank Jay Gould its first VP, and Harold Gould was on its Board of Directors.
The Kansas City Northwestern Railroad
The KCNWRR was a small railroad of of ultimately 160 miles that went from Kansas City to Beatrice, Nebraska. It never did enough business and ceased operations by 1919. But early financial difficulties, and its location in the backyard of Gould railroad interests made it a takeover target by the Goulds. KCNWRR cancels are rare.
The KCNWRR printed precancel
from Poor's Manual of Railroads, 1899:
George Gould was the President of the KC Northwestern, while Howard Gould was on the Board of Directors.
St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company (The Cotton Belt Route)
The Cotton Belt Route functioned as a single railroad, but had three differently named components during the 1898 tax period, including the St. Louis Southwestern, the St. Louis Southwestern of Texas (Texas law did not allow "foreign corporations"), the the Tyler Southeastern. All three railroads were controlled by Gould interests during the 1898 tax period.
from Poor's Manual of Railroads, 1899:
The Cotton Belt Routes' main components: the St. Louis Southwestern, the St. Louis Southwestern of Texas, dn the Tyler Southeastern Railway.
from Poor's Manual of Railroads, 1899:
Edwin Gould was the President of the St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company. J. A. Edson, the General Superintendant, was based in Tyler, Texas.
St. Louis Southwestern Railway
STLSWRY printed precancel
St. Louis Southwest Railway Company of Texas
STLSWRYCOofTEX printed precancel
Tyler Southeastern Railway
TSERY printed precancel
International & Great Northern Railroad
The International & Great Northern was "international" as it terminated at the Texas-Mexico border at Laredo and connected with a major Mexican railroad. The I&GNRR was a most prolific railroad when it came to printing precancels as their precancels are known on the 1, 2, 5, and 10 cent battleships, and on Scott R155, the IR overprinted green Franklin postage stamp.
I&GNRR printed precancel
from Poor's Manual of Railroads, 1899:
George Gould was President, Frank Gould was second VP, and Howard and Edwin Gould were on the Board of Directors of the I&GNRR.
Kansas City, Fort Scott & Memphis Railway, "Memphis Route"
Because few railroad systems printed and used precancels, I feel compelled to try to explain why some outliers, like the Memphis Route, might have done so. The Memphis Route was not technically a Gould railroad. However, major aspects of their operations were conducted in areas proximate to Gould interests, so the Goulds would have had an interest in the railroad. There were also documented connections between the Goulds and senior members of the Memphis Route's Board of Directors.
Memphis Route printed precancel. The Memphis route also printed cancels on the two cent battleship.
from Poor's Manual of Railroads 1899
Kansas City, Fort Scott & Memphis Railroad Board of Directors. There are no Goulds. A Nathaniel Thayer is on the Board.
The December 22, 1901 edition of the New York Times reported what was a false story, claiming that the Memphis Route had been taken over by the Goulds. The Frisco never lost control of the railroad despited this story. But while this story is false, there are clear associations between the Goulds and this railroad.
A Discovery Possibility: The Texas & Pacific Railway
There are multiple possibilities for cancel discoveries with the Gould railroads, as the Goulds owned many lines like the Kansas City Northwestern with cancels that are quite rare, such that some may have printed precancels but that to date have shown no evidence of having done so. As in the case of the Tyler Southeast, it is very possible that some of the roads may have printed cancels, but may have been so small and rurally located that their bills of lading and stamps were not preserved and lost to philately.
Rather than present a list of discovery possibilities, here is a single possibility with evidence that the railroad was a part of the larger Gould empire and which may have printed precancels.
from Poor's Manual of Railroads, 1899:
Texas & Pacific Board of Directors and Senior Management that includes George Gould as President, Frank J. Gould as second VP, and Howard Gould as a member of the Board
Below, an International & Great Northern precancancelled one cent battleship stamp with a Texas & Pacific handstamp cancel.
THE T. & P. RY. CO.
FEB
1
1901
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