Southern states where cotton was grown began to be called a “cotton belt” by the 1850s. The St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company ran track through Missouri, Arkansas and Texas, and by 1881 (trademark records claim 1891) the railroad line was being called the “Cotton Belt Route.”
 
The Cotton Belt Route ceased to operate in the 1990s, and in the late 1990s the track was made into a hiking trail called the “Cottonbelt Trail” (or “Cotton Belt Trail”).
   
     
Wikipedia: Cotton Belt (region)
‘The Cotton Belt’ is one of the belt regions in the southern states of the USA where cotton was the predominant crop in the 19th century/late 18th century. The heartland of the Cotton Belt was Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, together with parts of Arkansas and Texas. In this region, the plantation system and slavery combined with rich soils and a favourable climate to produce such crops, were the basis of prosperity for a privileged few in the Old South. 
 
St. Louis Southern Railway
The St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company (AAR reporting marks SSW), known by its nickname of “The Cotton Belt Route” or simply “Cotton Belt”, was organized on January 15, 1891, although it had its origins in a series of short lines founded in Tyler, Texas in 1877 that connected northeastern Texas to Arkansas and southeastern Missouri.
 
The company gained trackage rights over Missouri Pacific Railroad to reach the St. Louis, Missouri area. SSW also operated a yard and locomotive servicing facility in East St. Louis, Illinois, just east of Valley Junction, and south of Alton and Southern Railroad’s Gateway Yard, and north of Kansas City Southern’s East St. Louis Yard. Cotton Belt operated passenger trains out of St. Louis Union Station. They also had a freight station in Downtown St. Louis. Union Pacific Railroad now operates the yard (still named “Cotton Belt Yard”), but the engine servicing facilities have been demolished.
 
The St. Louis Southwestern and its subsidiaries operated a total of 1,607 miles of track in 1945; 1,555 miles of track in 1965; and 2,115 miles of track in 1981 after taking over the Rock Island’s Golden State Route.
 
The Southern Pacific Railroad gained control of the Cotton Belt system on April 14, 1932 but continued to operate it as a separate company until 1992, when the SP consolidated the Cotton Belt’s operations into the parent company. Cotton Belt diesel locomotives from 1959 on were painted in Southern Pacific’s “bloody nose” scheme - dark gray locomotive body with a red “winged” nose. The letters “SSW” were painted on the nose and “Cotton Belt” on the sides.
 
In 1996, the Union Pacific Railroad finished the acquisition that was effectively begun almost a century before with the purchase of the Southern Pacific by UP in 1901, until divestiture was ordered in 1913. The merged company retains the name “Union Pacific” for all railroad operations. Former SSW locomotives have been ‘patched’ with the UP logo and locomotive numbers, although a few locomotives still have the words “cotton belt” painted on the side.
 
Jacobs Carter Burgess - Trails to Adventure
Rails-to-Trails
A growing trend around the country is the rails-to-trails movement, which transforms abandoned railroad beds into multipurpose recreational corridors. For example, a rails-to-trails project in Colleyville, Texas, is called the Cottonbelt Trail, named for the Cottonbelt Railroad that ran through the region and was vital to the cotton industry. The project will connect the communities of Colleyville, Grapevine and Hurst and ultimately will extend to downtown Fort Worth. About 16 miles of trails already exist through some neighborhoods and parks in Colleyville.
 
The Cottonbelt Trail is part of the larger Colleyville Trails Master Plan, which was initiated with a series of citywide meetings where residents talked about what trails mean to the city. “People told us they wanted to go from neighborhoods to parks and schools and shopping, so we showed them how they could accommodate those needs,” says Carter & Burgess’ O’Flinn.
 
The next steps were to analyze the street system for possible pedestrian and bike lanes, determine land ownership, and develop a consensus plan that identified priorities. Carter & Burgess proposed adding approximately 30 miles of new trails in three phases.
 
“As the city grows and things change over the years, we may want to look at the plan again to determine new needs or identify corridors that have become available,” says O’Flinn. 
   
(Oxford English Dictionary)
cotton belt U.S., the area in which cotton is grown (see BELT n.1 5a)
1871 R. SOMERS Southern States 257 In many other parts of the ‘*Cotton Belt’.
1897 Lippincott’s Mag. May 688 The Cotton Belt embracing the heart of the Southern country.
1952 Manch. Guardian Weekly 31 July 7 A tenant farmer’s son from the cotton belt.
 
22 May 1855, Georgia Telegraph (Macon, GA), pg. 1:
The line of the Brunswick and Floriday Railroad penetrates a large portion of the great cotton belt of South Western Georgia—vast tracts of the richest lands, admirably suited to the growth of long staple cotton. 
 
28 April 1857, Charleston (SC) Mercury, “The Frontier and Cotton States,” pg. 2:
...and that it is idle for the Cotton States to rely upon her or the other Southern States, out of the cotton belt, to act with them in any great emergency that might arise.
 
28 September 1861, Philadelphia (PA) Inquirer, pg. 4:
The shading points out, at a glance, the tobacco region of Virginia, the great cotton belt from Georgia to Louisiana, and the sugar tract of the Lower Mississippi.
 
21 January 1881, Galveston (TX) Daily News, pg. 3, col. 5:
TEXAS AND ST. LOUIS RAILWAY COMPANY.
Cotton Belt Route.
     
5 March 1887, Dallas (TX) Morning News, “Railroad News of the Day,” pg. 2:
Since that date he has served in different capacities on the various roads of the States, and now links his fortunes with the Cotton Belt Route.
 
30 April 1887, Dallas (TX)

, pg. 3:
The last portion of grading on the Sherman & Mt. Pleasant branch of the Cotton Belt route is nearly finished.
 
30 April 1887, Dallas (TX) Weekly Herald, pg. 7:
FORT WORTH, Greenville and Longview will have committees to meet representatives of the St. Louis, Arkansas & Texas railway, at Texarkana on the 4th of May. These citizens are working to secure their towns the Cotton Belt Route which is now so rapidly spreading through Texas.
     
Dallas (TX) Morning News
The Cottonbelt Trail provides a breath of fresh air for its users, and officials also hope it will help reduce pollution levels.
Author: Lee Powell Northeast Tarrant Bureau of The Dallas Morning News
Publish Date: June 29, 2000
In the morning before it gets too hot, Horace Smith likes to begin his walk along the 2.7-mile stretch of concrete sidewalk sandwiched between State Highway 26 and the old Cottonbelt rail line.
 
Sometimes, the 64-year-old Grapevine resident walks the route twice if the weather’s agreeable and he feels up to it.
 
“I don’t walk too fast,” he said. “There are others who walk it and ride bicycles that go off and leave…”
 
Dallas (TX) Morning News
Cottonbelt Trail has miles to go
Several area cities plan to add on to 2.7-mile segment in Grapevine
Author: KATHY A. GOOLSBY Northeast Tarrant Bureau
Publish Date: April 14, 2003
For four years, it’s been a dead end.
 
There at Pool Road, just short of the Colleyville city limits, is the end of the 2.7-mile Cottonbelt Trail, which has meandered since 1999 from downtown Grapevine southwest toward Colleyville along State Highway 26.
 
Now officials in Colleyville, Hurst and North Richland Hills plan to start work on their portions of the trail. It follows the old Cottonbelt railroad, which is owned by Dallas Area Rapid Transit. When completed, the ...
 
11 December 2004, Fort Worth (TX) Star-Telegram, pg. 1B:
A 4-mile addition to the Cottonbelt Trail opens today with a 10 a.m. ribbon-cutting party dubbed “Walk, Roll and Stroll” at Dick Faram Park, 8344 Amundson Drive in North Richland Hills. The trail runs along railroad tracks, utility corridors and through parks—and will offer users an alternative to auto-dominated streets.
 
(Trademark)
Word Mark COTTON BELT ROUTE
Goods and Services IC 039. US 105. G & S: Transporting Freight by Railroad. FIRST USE: 18910100. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 18910100
Mark Drawing Code (3) DESIGN PLUS WORDS, LETTERS, AND/OR NUMBERS
Design Search Code 26.01.07 - Circles with a decorative border, including scalloped, ruffled and zig-zag edges
26.01.28 - Circles with irregular circumferences; Miscellaneous circular designs with an irregular circumference
Serial Number 73339490
Filing Date November 30, 1981
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Published for Opposition September 7, 1982
Registration Number 1218635
Registration Date November 30, 1982
Owner (REGISTRANT) St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company a.k.a. Cotton Belt Route and Cotton Belt CORPORATION MISSOURI Southern Pacific Bldg. One Market Plz. San Francisco CALIFORNIA 94105
(LAST LISTED OWNER) UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY CORPORATION BY MERGER, BY MERGER, BY MERGER, BY CHANGE OF NAME DELAWARE 1416 DODGE STREET OMAHA NEBRASKA 68179
Assignment Recorded ASSIGNMENT RECORDED
Attorney of Record Michelle Austin Pamies
Type of Mark SERVICE MARK
Register PRINCIPAL-2(F)-IN PART
Affidavit Text SECT 15. SECT 8 (6-YR). SECTION 8(10-YR) 20030515.
Renewal 1ST RENEWAL 20030515
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE
Distinctiveness Limitation Statement Sec. 2(f) as to words only.
 
(Trademark)
Word Mark COTTON BELT ROUTE
Goods and Services IC 014. US 002 027 028 050. G & S: Ornamental pins. FIRST USE: 20070212. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20070212
IC 028. US 022 023 038 050. G & S: Toy model train sets. FIRST USE: 20070212. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20070212
Mark Drawing Code (3) DESIGN PLUS WORDS, LETTERS, AND/OR NUMBERS
Design Search Code 26.01.17 - Circles, two concentric; Concentric circles, two; Two concentric circles
26.01.21 - Circles that are totally or partially shaded.
26.01.26 - Coils; Spirals; Swirls
26.01.28 - Circles with irregular circumferences; Miscellaneous circular designs with an irregular circumference
26.17.09 - Bands, curved; Bars, curved; Curved line(s), band(s) or bar(s); Lines, curved
Serial Number 76978042
Filing Date December 31, 2002
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A;1B
Published for Opposition June 6, 2006
Registration Number 3283432
Registration Date August 21, 2007
Owner (REGISTRANT) Union Pacific Railroad Company CORPORATION DELAWARE 1400 Douglas Street Omaha NEBRASKA 68179
Attorney of Record Michelle Austin Pamies
Prior Registrations 1218634;1218635
Description of Mark Color is not claimed as a feature of the mark.
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE