suits competed against an earlier lawsuit filed in federal court by the Illinois Central Railroad, which was attempting to force the NOO&GW into liquidation. This was inimical to Morgan's financial interests since he was a major bondholder, and Taylor's suit asked for a court-ordered sale of the railroad. The Illinois Central's suit was dismissed in Federal District Court, and Morgan won his suit, sending the NOO&GW into an auction at the New Orleans Custom House. Through an agent, Morgan purchased the NOO&GW on May 25, 1869, for $2,050,000. Morgan, for his more than $2 million, owned the entire NOO&GW. He renamed it Morgan's Louisiana and Texas Railroad. At the time of purchase, the assets included a terminal each at Algiers and Brashear, and eighty miles of single-track in between. The Algiers terminal included forty acres with 370-feet of frontage on the Mississippi River, directly across from New Orleans. The Brashear terminal included coal yards, warehouses, and wharves, with 330-feet of frontage on the Atchafalaya River. Along its track, the NOO&GW had built many miles of trestles over the watery right-of-way, and also maintained depots and rolling stock. Morgan purchased a large share of equity of the San Antonio and Mexican Gulf Railroad (SA&MG) on May 25, 1870. His steamers had long served the Texas port of Indianola, and he met the competition of railroad transport to Indianola by his own railroad investment. Morgan, and the other owner, Henry S. McComb, renamed the company the Gulf, Western Texas, and Pacific Railroad. Morgan acquired McComb's interest in the railroad in May 1872. With steamboat service from New Orleans to Mobile, Alabama, discontinued, the LouisianaTexas service accounted for most of Morgan's marine business. High taxes and fees increased the costs for doing business in New Orleans. The city's access to the Mississippi River was less important in light of Morgan's Texas and Louisiana Railroad. After the dredging of the Atchafalya River in 1872, Morgan moved all of his Louisiana steamboat operations from New Orleans to Brashear, relying on the ferry from New Orleans to Algiers, and his railroad from Algiers to Brashear to convey his westbound passengers and freight. He also shifted investments from wharfage at Lake Ponchartain and in New Orleans to expanded facilities in Brashear. By around 1875, Morgan's payroll included about 800 workers in Brashear, with the wharf spanning over 2,600 feet. In February 1876, the town's name was changed