Bob Cox picked me up at the Depot Inn & Suites in La Plata, Missouri and we took off for Abilene, Kansas, driving south on US Highway 63 to Macon, where we turned right onto US Highway 36, taking that west to St. Joseph, shirking through the edge of a major thunderstorm. At St. Joseph, we turned left onto US Highway 59 and our first stop of the morning.
The BNSF in St. Joseph, Missouri. We continued south on US Highway 59 and just after Rushville, stopped again.
At East Armor, DPU BNSF 5856 was on the rear of BNSF 5779 West which was stopped. We drove down to the front of the train.
BNSF ES44AC 5779 and SD70MAC 9773 stopped at this unique location. We took US Highway 59 across the Missouri River into Atchison where we spotted our next stop.
The Santa Fe Depot Visitor Center & Museum which we went inside and saw the exhibits.
The Santa Fe freight house in Atchison, built in 1880, is a masonry building constructed with quarry-faced ashlar stone of contrasting corner quoins and fenestration surrounds. The building has two main sections – a two-story office on the west end and a one-story freight section on the east. The building was nominated as part of the "Historic Railroad Resources of Kansas" multiple property nomination and is locally significant for its architecture and transportation history.
A statue to Railroad Workers who built the railroads of the west.
Atchison Railroad Museum 6/25/2009The Museum was founded in 1988 by the Northeast Kansas Railroaders Society. One portion of the land was leased from the city and the other part was purchased from the Santa Fe Railroad. The museum exhibits an outdoor collection of rail cars, locomotive and rolling stock from the old Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad whichis available for exterior viewing throughout the year. Northeast Kansas Railroad members operate the Atchison & Western Miniature Railroad, a 12" gauge railroad, weekends during the summer, Saturday 10-5 and Sunday 12-4.
This scene greeted us as we entered.
Santa Fe 2-8-0 811 built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1902. It ended its career with the Santa Fe as a switch engine in Chanute, Kansas, being taken out of service on July 23, 1952. After almost two years in storage, the locomotive was donated to Atchison on June 1, 1954 and placed on display.
This plaque states that Atchison was the starting point of the Santa Fe Railway.
Missouri Pacific box car 9249 Route of the Eagles built by the railroad in 1926.
Missouri Pacific flat car 9127 thought to be built by the railroad in 1936.
Missouri Pacific Eagle Merchandise Service 40 foot box car 121175 built as a wooden box car in 1925 and converted to a steel express car in 1950. This car is one of a group of cars that were specially equipped to carry less-than- carload freight on Missouri Pacific passenger trains between 1951 and 1960. The cars were not interchanged with other railroads and wore a special paint scheme to match the Mopac’s "Eagle" streamliner passenger trains.
Burlington Northern water car 973151, nee Great Northern X6518, builder and year unknown. It was used to haul water for maintenance-of-way projects and constructed by placing an older (circa 1920's) riveted tank car tank on a newer (circa 1950) flatcar.
Santa Fe caboose 999468, nee Santa Fe 2103, built by the railroad in 1942.
Kansas City Southern caboose 400 built by Thrall in 1976.
Missouri Pacific wide-vision caboose 13615 built by International Car in 1973.
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy United States Railway Post Office Car 1604 "Silver Pouch" built by Budd in 1952. This was the last stainless steel Railway Post Office car purchased by the CB&Q. RPO's were used to sort and carry mail on passenger trains. Until 1967, much of America's mail was carried by and sorted aboard passenger trains.
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy coach 4703 "Silver Gleam" built by Budd in 1940. It saw service on the Silver Streak Zephyr between Kansas City, Omaha and Lincoln.
Chicago Burlington & Quincy coach 4704 "Silver Glow" built by Budd in 1940.
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy coach 4712 "Silver Crown" built by Budd in 1940.
The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy passenger cars at Atchison.
Santa Fe caboose 999592, nee Santa Fe 2164, built by the railroad in 1949.
Santa Fe caboose 999575, nee Santa Fe, 2296, built by the railroad in 1949.
Missouri Pacific Maintenance-of-Way dining car 14259 built by the railroad in 1962 as a mail storage car.
Outside-braced wooden box car of unknown origin.
Missouri Pacific high cube box car 794826 built by Pacific Car and Foundry in 1969.
Burlington Northern caboose 10410, originally Chicago, Burlington and Quincy 13544, built by the railroad in 1954.
Santa Fe 44-seat coach 2865 built by Pullman-Standard in 1947 and was part of the consist of the El Capitan then used in Amtrak service from 1971 to 1981 until sold into private ownership.
Missouri Pacific Lines baggage car, number unknown built between 1910 and 1930.
Missouri Pacific snow plough X5790 built by the railroad in 1928 using a tender from a former steam engine. It remained in service into the late 1980's and was mainly used on the now-abandoned Central Branch line running northwest from Atchison.
With that, Bob and I finished our visit at Atchison Railroad Museum and continued our drive to Abilene.
We found Cargill GP9 137, ex. Iowa, Chicago and Eastern 137, exx. I&M Rail Link 137, nee SOO Line 551 built in 1954, at their terminal grain elevator in Parnell, Kansas. We took US Highway 59 to near Nortonville, where we went straight onto Kansas Highway 4 to Topeka then turned onto US Highway 24 west towards Manhattan.
We stopped at Wamego for petrol and Union Pacific caboose 253866, nee Union Pacific 2786, built by International Car in 1964 and donated to the City of Wamego in 1977. This town also has a Wizard of Oz Museum. At Manhattan, we made a wrong turn but were able to see part of Kansas State University, Home of the Wildcats. From here we drove Kansas Highway 18 to Ogdenm then cut down to Interstate 70 west to Abilene, where, after crossing two railroads with two stations, we arrived at our train ride location.
