The Kansas City Southern Railway, Over 100 Years of Serving the South

The Kansas City Southern’s story is actually quite recent when compared to the railroad industry as a whole; the railroad was not charted until 1890 (long after the industry had been established) when it was originally known as the Kansas City Suburban Belt Railroad later to become the Kansas City, Pittsburg & Gulf. The railroad’s initial plan was to build to the Gulf of Mexico connecting its namesake city with the ocean in an attempt to give farmers a means of shipping their goods, as well as hauling goods inland from incoming ocean shipments.

This plan, however, was never successful and after falling into receivership it was reorganized as today’s Kansas City Southern in 1900. Even after the reorganization the railroad struggled to earn income until its savior came in the way of "black gold," oil. With the discovery of oil the railroad’s southern tier, its lines located in Texas and Louisiana, boomed with new oil refineries, many of which can still be found to this day along both states’ coastal regions. This new traffic would account for well over one-quarter of the Kansas City Southern’s profits for much of the railroad’s early years (and continue to provide a substantial amount of its overall earnings).

For roughly the first half of the 20th century the KCS prospered, earning considerable profits on a railroad system that was less than 1,000 total miles in length. However, beginning in the late 1950s the railroad would once again go through a period of hard times, much like its early days. Things got so bad by the early 1970s (mostly a result of deferred maintenance) that derailments became commonplace across the entire system. If it were not for record volumes of traffic continuing to pour over the KCS during this time the railroad could have faced a serious problem, similar to its northern neighbor, the Rock Island.

(Please note that the below map of the KCS depicts the railroad as it historically appeared in 1950, not today.)

While the KCS was never a big player in the passenger rail market like several other roads, it did have a few notable trains such as its Southern Belle streamlined train which operated between Kansas City and New Orleans. Adorned in an eye-catching Brunswick Green (that appears almost black), yellow, and red the train operated between 1940 and 1968 until hard times and a weakening passenger market forced the train’s cancellation. In any event, with plenty of traffic to keep the railroad stable it began to pull out of the mess it was in during the latter half of the 1970s, and by the 1980s it was once again earning healthy profits and running efficient operations (a result of physical plant upgrades and better train blocking and scheduling).

In the last decade the railroad has grown, and quite substantially, for the first time since its early years. In the 1990s it acquired two railroads, the Gateway Western Railway and Mid-South Rail Corporation. The former gave the Kansas City Southern access into St. Louis and Springfield, Illinois and the latter into Mississippi. Also, in recent years the KCS was able to gain complete control of two railroads south of the border, the Texas Mexican Railway and Grupo Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana, putting the Kansas City Southern solidly into Mexico and giving it access to many of the country’s largest markets.

Its logo virtually unchanged throughout its life, with its recent acquisitions the railroad looks poised to continue to remain successful throughout the coming years (perhaps as they sometimes say, change is not always a good thing!).

Kansas City Southern Railway All-Time Locomotive Rosters

KCS Diesel Locomotive Roster

KCS Steam Locomotive Roster

Notable Kansas City Southern Railway Passenger Trains

Southern Belle

Flying Crow: (Kansas City - New Orleans/Port Arthur)

Shreveporter: (Hope - Shreveport)

While the railroad has had a number of different paint schemes over the years ranging from whites, reds, blacks, and grays recently the railroad decided to switch its locomotives back into the it’s classic Brunswick Green, yellow, and red (in recent years locomotives have been adorned in a simpler all-gray with red and yellow trim).

For a deeper look into the KCS you might want to consider Kansas City Southern in Color: The Era of Streamlined Hospitality, 1940-1970 from Jim Boyd who has featured his superb photography in several different books on a wide range of railroading subjects. If you have an interest in the KCS and its history I'm sure you will find this book very interesting. If you're interested in perhaps purchasing this book please visit The Railroad Diamond by clicking the tab in the menu to your left marked "TRD Store".