Kansas Railroads and Railfanning In "The Sunflower State"

Kansas railroads are extremely rich in history albeit one may not think or realize it when they see that flat open farm country that defines the state. At one time Kansas ranked a whopping third in total rail mileage due to its rich agricultural base as railroads looked to tap all corners of the state to reach these areas (Kansas is regarded as one of the granger states because of its farming importance to railroads). While Kansas has since slipped in this category and today only carries about half of its all time high (much of this loss has been the abandonment of these agricultural branch lines during the 1970s and 1980s), railroads are still very important in the Sunflower State with Class I systems BNSF Railway, Union Pacific, Kansas City Southern all operating key routes within the state along with a number of regional and shortline carriers.

A crewman rides the front pilot of Union Pacific SD40-2 #3143 as it and two other units pull out of the yard in Salina, Kansas during August of 1978.

Kansas railroads date back to the Leavenworth, Pawnee & Western Railroad, which was chartered in 1855 to connect the Missouri River with Fort Riley. Construction of the line did not actually begin until 1863 at which point it was organized under the name of the Union Pacific Eastern Division by Congress. The Union Pacific, of course, came about because of the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 to build the country's first transcontinental railroad. The name was later changed to the Kansas Pacific Railway in 1869 after it had connected Kansas City with Denver, Colorado. In the following years Kansas would come to have several of our most revered western and granger railroads operating within its borders. These names included (the links will take you to pages here at the site providing a more detailed history of these lines):

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway

Union Pacific

Chicago & North Western

Chicago Great Western

Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (Burlington Route)

Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific (Rock Island)

Milwaukee Road

Missouri Pacific Railroad

Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (Katy)

Wabash Railroad

St. Louis-San Francisco Railway (Frisco)

The final years of the Rock Island were quite disappointing to see from the public's perspective. Worn out equipment like U25B #211 and U28B #264 were quite common, seen here leading a freight through New Lenox, Illinois on April 2, 1977.

Today, much of Kansas' rail network is operated by Santa Fe successor BNSF Railway, Kansas City Southern, and the Union Pacific whose Kansas City-Denver main line also cuts directly through Kansas. The rest of the Sunflower State's rails are operated by regionals (Class IIs) Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad, Kyle Railroad, Missouri & Northern Arkansas, Nebraska, Kansas & Colorado, and South Kansas & Oklahoma. Additionally, the state is home to several shortlines (Class IIIs) which include the Cimarron Valley Railroad, Dodge City, Ford & Bucklin, Hutchinson & Northern Railway, Blackwell Northern Gateway Railroad, Garden City Western Railway, Kansas City Terminal Railway, Kaw River Railroad, V&S Railway, and the Wichita Union Terminal Railway. To learn more about these railroads please click here. This page is meant to help those looking for a career in railroading within the state of Kansas although it also provides a brief overview and contact information for the companies operating there.

As for the state's route mileage, today it totals fewer than 5,000 although at its peak in the 1920s that number pushed 9,400. Much of this loss was, again, due to the decline in farms shipping their products by rail although it was also caused simply by overbuilding, a similar issue affecting many granger states (there was just too much supply and not enough demand, particularly following World War II). For a more in-depth look at Kansas railroads, in terms of its rail mileage over the years please refer to the chart above.

In years past Kansas was once home to legendary passenger trains such as AT&SF's Super Chief and Union Pacific's City fleet. Today, however, passenger operations are managed by Amtrak and include only the Southwest Chief (which stops at Lawrence, Topeka, Newton, Hutchinson, Dodge City, and Garden City) that still operates over much of the same territory s the famous Super Chief. To learn more about the state's current passenger train services please click here to visit Amtrak's website. For a historical look at the Super Chief and City fleet please click here to visit the site's streamliner section.

Surviving Kansas Train Stations

Kansas railroads are also home to a number of railroad museums and tourist lines that you may be interested in visiting when in the state. They include the Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad, Ellis Railroad Museum, Great Plains Transportation Museum, Great Overland Station, Liberal Rock Island Depot, Heart of the Heartlands, Midland Railway, and the Santa Fe Depot Foundation. All in all Kansas railroads have plenty to offer, whether you are a vacationer, railfan, or maybe even a local Jayhawk interested in some sightseeing or something to do!

St. Louis-San Francisco Railway (Frisco) GP7 #562 leads two other Geeps as they are about to cross a rural wooden trestle with their freight near Morrison, Oklahoma on September 7, 1966.

For more reading about the history of Kansas railroads you might want to consider picking up the book Kansas Train Tales: A Collection Of Railroad History by author Robert Collins. The book explores the Kansas's earliest beginnings with railroads and how they came to shape the state's current rail network and its economy. At 130 pages in the length the title should give you a good, general understanding of Kansas railroad history. In any event, if you're interested in perhaps purchasing this book please visit the link below which will take you to ordering information through Amazon.com, the trusted online shopping network.