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Missouri Scenic Train Rides: A Complete Guide

Published: February 24, 2025

By: Adam Burns

Missouri was one of railroading's most important states. It was not only a gateway state served by several different systems but also home to the actual Gateway City, St. Louis! Far to the west, at the Kansas border, a similar metropolitan region could be found, Kansas City.

John Stover's book "The Routledge Historical Atlas Of The American Railroads," notes that mileage peaked at over 8,100 miles during the 1920's. This trackage was operated by several classic railroads including the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Missouri Pacific; St. Louis-San Francisco Railway (Frisco); St. Louis Southwestern ("The Cotton Belt Route"); Wabash; Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (" The Katy"); Milwaukee Road; Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (Burlington); Chicago Great Western; Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific; Gulf, Mobile & Ohio; and even the Baltimore & Ohio for a time.

With such a rich railroading heritage, there are many institutions and attractions found throughout the Show-Me State highlighting its history: scenic train rides include the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern; Belton, Grandview & Kansas City; and Branson Scenic Railway while there are also numerous museums.

State Rail History

Missouri has a fascinating history with railroads, which dates back to the Pacific Railroad (PR) chartered in March, 1849. According to Joe Collias's book "Frisco Power: Locomotives And Trains Of The St. Louis-San Francisco Railway, 1903-1953," this system was formed by the state to link St. Louis with the Pacific coast.

Such endeavors were quite common in that era but was only successful following the federal government's involvement. The PR was ambitious but formidable with numerous challenges; the most critical was procuring a steady flow of capital.

Even the prospect of laying a grade was extremely difficult due to the region's remoteness, sparse population, and lack of infrastructure. In his book, "Missouri Pacific Lines: Freight Train Services And Equipment," author Patrick Dorin notes ground was broken in St. Louis on July 4, 1851.

(According to the book, "Baltimore & Ohio Railroad," by Kirk Reynolds and David Oroszi it was tradition to launch new canal construction on July 4th and many early railroad projects also chose that date.)

The initial goal involved following the Missouri River's south bank to reach Kansas City. The company's first locomotive, named Pacific, arrived on August 20, 1852; shortly thereafter the first 5 miles from St. Louis to Cheltenham opened.

On December 9th the company's inaugural train, also credited as the first to operate west of the Mississippi River, chugged down this track carrying local dignitaries and officials.

Ultimately, the railroad would never reach the Pacific coast. However, it was completed to Kansas City on September 19, 1865 and eventually wound up as part of Missouri Pacific's 12,000 route-mile network.

Belton, Grandview & Kansas City Railroad

The Belton, Grandview & Kansas City Railroad is based in Belton, Missouri and offers a 5-mile excursion on former St. Louis-San Francisco ("Frisco") trackage.

The line was one of three the railroad once maintained between Springfield and Kansas City! Today's attraction began as the Kansas City Railroad Museum in 1964, an organization operated by the Smoky Hill Railway & Historical Society.

Following a handful of moves they settled on a location in Belton during 1995. Today, the railroad operates several seasonal specials and also offers cab rides. Their locomotive collection includes a pair of steam locomotives on static display as well as a few diesels.

The former include Okmulgee Northern Railway 2-8-0 #5 (built by American Locomotive's Cooke Works in 1923 and St. Louis-San Francisco 2-10-0 #1632 (manufactured by Baldwin in 1918).

The group's two diesels include Chesapeake & Ohio GP9 (originally numbered 6142) and a little 25-ton switcher manufactured by the Plymouth Locomotive Works.

Branson Scenic Railway

The Branson Scenic Railway is a tourist attraction operated in conjunction with short line freight carrier Missouri & Northern Arkansas Railroad between Galena and Self, Missouri (trains depart from Branson).

This particular corridor date back to 1902 when the White River Railway was founded that year. It eventually became part of the Missouri Pacific, better known by railroaders and railfans as the “MoPac.”

The Branson Scenic came about in 1993; since its inception the railroad operates either north to Galena or south to Self, depending on how the freight line's operations are playing out that particular day. As a result, round trips are dependen but usually run about 40 miles and last nearly 2 hours.

Because the trains pass through Missouri's beautiful Ozark Mountains visitors can experience passage through a number of tunnels and bridges during their journey. Overall the railroad is quite scenic and well worth the trip through a region sometimes forgotten for its beauty and ruggedness.

Kansas City Northern Railroad

This attraction is located within the Frank Vaydik Line Creek Park at Kansas City offering 16-inch-gauge scale train rides. The all-volunteer, 501(c)3 non-profit organization was formed in 1984 when the Kansas City Parks & Recreation Department wanted the former Kansas City Zoo railroad to restore the operation.

The three diesels which normally operate are based on Electro-Motive's successful "F" series line of streamlined, cab model locomotives; #31 wears Kansas City Southern's attractive Southern Belle livery (named for that company's once popular streamliner by the same name) and was built in 1953 (it remained in use at the zoo until 1972), #802 was first put into service in 1955 at the Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) Zoo, and finally #561 wears the Missouri Pacific's elegant cream and blue paint scheme that adorned its fleet of Eagle streamliners. The Kansas City Northern is open from May through September each year.

Magic City Line Mini Train

This attraction is located at Rothwell Park in Moberly offering 12-inch-gauge scale train rides on a 1-mile loop. While there are no live steam locomotives operating they do have a nice collection of diesel locomotives which are based on actual model types.

There are three currently in their fleet; a Norfolk Southern "Dash 9" (This variant is a somewhat more modern locomotive built by General Electric from the 1990's through early 2000's. It was highly successful with thousands built.), a Norfolk & Western H24-66 "Train Master" (This high-horsepower type was a 1950's locomotive built by Fairbanks Morse. It proved unsuccessful with few buyers.), and finally an "F" series model featured in Wabash Railroad's colors. (This diesel type was built by Electro-Motive from the late 1930's through the early 1960's. It remains an iconic, timeless locomotive still found in service today.)

St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad

The St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad is based in Jackson and since 1986 has offered a 10-mile excursion through the rolling, open countryside of southeastern Missouri.

The railroad normally uses a former Pennsylvania Railroad E8A (built as #5898-A in 1951) to pull its trains but also has 2-4-2 #5 on-hand, a steam locomotive which is currently out-of-service and under a long term restoration (it was manufactured by the H.K. Porter Company in 1946 for the Central Illinois Public Service).

The St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern name is quite historic, as it formed a primary component of the modern Missouri Pacific, a system pieced together in larger part through the efforts of notorious tycoon Jay Gould.

The current tourist attraction offers a number of special runs throughout the year such as a Murder Mystery Dinner Theater, "The Santa Express," and Chuck Wagon Dinners.

Wabash, Frisco & Pacific Steam Railway

This little operation, maintained by the Wabash, Frisco, & Pacific Association, is another 1-foot-gauge, scale train ride, located in Glencoe. The railroad operates miniature, live steam locomotives which power trains on a 2-mile, round trip which last about a half-hour.

The history of this attraction is much older than what most realize. The group was formed in 1939, utilizing 4-4-2 #171 which operated over about 1 mile of track on 30 acres of property near Brown Road and Natural Bridge.

Unfortunately, rising property values near what is today St. Louis Lambert International Airport forced them to move with a final run being made on July 19, 1959. They have been based at their current location since 1961.

Since that time the group has added numerous buildings, including a car barn, roundhouse, and a locomotive fleet totaling four steamers! They are open every Sunday between May and October (rain or shine!).