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Cimarron Valley Railroad

The Cimarron Valley Railroad is based in Satanta, Kansas, and consists of the former Santa Fe C.V. and Manter Subdivisions (Dodge City, KS - Boise City, OK and Satanta to Springfield, CO, respectively). The railroad operates a total of 254 miles of track; traffic is mostly grain and agricultural, but the company handles some chemical and general merchandise traffic as well. CVR began operations in February 1996.

The most remarkable aspect of the CVR's operations is its motive power fleet, which until recently consisted exclusively of EMD GP30 locomotives. Most of the GP30s are ex-D&RGW units numbered in the 3000-series, but CVR has recently hosted visitors from its sister road, the Southwestern Railroad. (Cimarron Valley and the Southwestern both fall under the Western Group "umbrella".) Unfortunately, some of the GP30s were damaged in a derailment in 2003, and Southwestern RR GP28s 2601 and 2602 were sent to the CVR to help fill in.

The following photos were taken in August 2000. I was fortunate to catch the CVR operating not one but TWO trains... on a Saturday, no less! Enjoy, and don't miss
Blair Kooistra's Cimarron Valley photo page, a special contribution to the Southwest Railfan.

Please click on any of the following pictures to see a larger image:

	Four GP30s -- two each from the Southwestern RR and the Cimarron Valley -- are tied up on a spur track at Keyes, OK (east of Boise City) on the morning of Saturday, August 12, 2000. A CVR crew will arrive shortly to take the locomotives east toward Satanta, picking up cars from grain elevators along the way.
	Cimarron Valley GP30s 3020 / 3004 switch the Columbian Chemicals Co. carbon black plant near Ulysses (south of Hickok, KS) on August 12, 2001.
	Cimarron Valley GP30 3020 -- an ex-D&RGW unit -- does some switching at a carbon black plant near Hickok, Kansas on August 12, 2000.
	Cimarron Valley GP30s 3004 / 3020 prepare to head back east toward Satanta after switching a carbon black plant near Ulysses, Kansas (south of Hickok) on August 12, 2000.
	Cimarron Valley GP30s 3004 / 3020 head east on the former Santa Fe Manter Subdivision near Ulysses, Kansas (south of Hickok) on August 12, 2000. The Columbian Chemicals carbon black plant can be seen in the background to the left of the train.
	Cimarron Valley GP30s 3004 / 3020 lead an eastbound on the former Santa Fe Manter Subdivision east of Ryus, Kansas on August 12, 2000. The train's next stop will be the CVR yard at Satanta.
	Cimarron Valley GP30s 3004 / 3020 lead an eastbound train approaching Satanta, Kansas on August 12, 2000.
	Shut down for the afternoon after bringing in a train from a carbon black plant near Ulysses, Cimarron Valley GP30 3020 rests outside the railroad's three-stall shop building at Satanta, Kansas on August 12, 2000.

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All images on the Southwest Railfan © 2000 - 2004 by Wes Carr.
All rights reserved.