Stephenville North and South Texas Railway

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The Stephenville North & South Texas Railway (SN&ST) was incorporated in Texas on February 4, 1907, by Stephenville and Hamilton business interests. Its original standard gauge 43-mile line was built between Stephenville and Hamilton and completed in late 1907. The first train operated between Stephenville and Hamilton on Christmas Day 1907. Regular service began in January 1908. Four apparently identical wooden depots of a standard design were built at Hamilton, Carlton, Spurlin, and Alexander (where the Texas Central line of the Katy Railroad crossed). The SN&ST shared a Union Station with its original primary railroad connection, the long-established Fort Worth & Rio Grande Railroad at Stephenville.

A serious flood in April 1908 caused the owners of the line to seek a buyer. In January 1909 a half interest in the line was sold to Commonwealth Trust Company of St. Louis. The St. Louis Southwestern Railway of Texas (known as "the Cotton Belt Route") bought the railroad in April 1910. The charter of the SN&ST was amended on April 18, 1910 to permit extensions of the railroad from Hamilton to Gatesville, Texas; from Stephenville to Thurber, Texas; and from Edson, Texas to Comanche, Texas. However, the line from Stephenvile to Thurber was never built.