Talk about an outpost "terminal." I really think northwest Kansas is a little underrated when it comes to railfanning. I'm glad Dan had enough foresight to document the old MOP.
For sure, Joel. The peaceful plains of Kansas are truly a joy to experience. Storms, trains, history, and serene beauty… you really can’t go wrong out there.
I worked as a brakeman/conductor out of Osawatomie Ks for the MOP ran the west run to Council Grove many times also worked from Council Grove to Hosington Ks for a few years. As Topeka came up I worked the Topeka Local out of Osawatomie a few times we went west to Lomax and took the branch line up to Topeka. For those that Know after all these years I still dream about the bridge at the bottom of Lake hill going west! 35 years later. I love that west run good track well dispatched and smooth train operations. Thank you for the memories.
I am a EMT and own the thrift store in Tribune K.S the county seat in Greeley. For those who are wondering, the line is still active here, its now operated by Kansas and Oklahoma since it changed ownership with Central Kansas Railway in 2001, and interchanges with the new railroad in Towner, Colorado Pacific. The depot is still there, but its in disrepair, we do see regular trains, well fairly regular.
I'm amazed so much WC power was leased by the UP and used on this route's final days. The track between Herington and Hope is still in place and not cut off by paved over crossings until within Hope. Lindsborg has turned the right-of-way in its city limits into the Valkommen trail. The K&O operates 80 miles of track between Geneseo and McCracken (with a wye near Geneseo connecting the route to Sterling. The 55 miles between McCracken and Healy are abandoned, where the K&O also operates the 17 miles to Scott City connecting to their ex-ATSF tracks. Those old ATSF tracks continue to NA Junction outside of Avondale, Colorado connecting with the BNSF Pueblo sub.
Ooh, it sure is sad that the former Missouri Pacific line between Herington, Kansas and Pueblo, Colorado is now long gone, due to the end of operations on the Tennessee Pass line in 1997.
Thank you, Andrew. Watching the systematic abandonment and removal of the former MoPac main across Kansas was very unpleasant. Although the Union Pacific may have wanted to abandon this line in its entirety, there are still portions of it intact. The section through Gypsum is gone, as stated in the narration. Here’s how it breaks down: Osawatomie, KS to Herington, KS is long gone. Herington, KS to Hope, KS is intact (UP). Hope, KS to Geneseo, KS is gone. Geneseo, KS to McCracken, KS is intact (K&O). McCracken, KS to Healy, KS is gone. Healy, KS to NA Junction in Colorado is intact (K&O and Colorado Pacific). The joint track between NA Junction and Pueblo is also still intact, and is quite active thanks to BNSF traffic operating between Pueblo and La Junta. We appreciate the comment, as always.
Great video footage, thank you for sharing this! So many fun memories for me personally, as we documented east of Gypsum to Herington many times over the years in video and photos. Many chases, many old employees I got to know, and alot of footage I obtained in it's heyday. It was a busy line. Back when railroading was railroading. Hope you have more footage, or put more of it out on DVD.
Thank you very much! And you’re welcome. As for additional footage, this was all we could find. The videographer documented this line in just one day while passing through Kansas. We appreciate your interest in our videos.
Well, we absolutely appreciate that, but what you see here is all there will ever be. This line would be worthy of a longer video if additional footage existed. Either way, thank you for checking out the video.
Don't think I've ever seen footage of this line, so this is nice treat. I can see why UP abandoned it since they just got the Golden State Route with the SP acquisition, so the MoPac line became redundant.
True. This line was entirely parallel to Union Pacific's existing _Kansas Pacific_ (Denver Cutoff) line to the north. The former MP Kansas line's main utility was that it connected seamlessly with the former (DRGW) _Tennessee Pass_ route at Pueblo, Colorado. After UP acquired Espee/Rio Grande including the _Moffat Route,_ much of the (former DRGW) _Tennessee Pass_ line and this (former MP) line across Kansas became expendable.
That is perfectly fine. You are more than welcome to comment whenever it is convenient. As for your question, if you’re referring to the scene at Gypsum, that would be a Leslie RS3L. Thank you for watching the video.
When I first moved to Topeka in the early 90s this line went under the kansas turnpike just south of the admire ks exit. You could look off to the west and see a clear signal. Then one yr not knowing what UP's plans were the tracks were gone and the green signal extinguished forever.
It was pretty sad to watch the decline of this once-mighty mainline route. The UP had a plan, and it didn’t involve operating this line. They were careful to not let any other railroad “save” the route while it was still intact. Abandonment in sections worked for that. Thank you for the comment, Mike.
Unfortunately, yes. The Modoc Line, Tennessee Pass, and this line were all doomed once the UP/SP merger was approved. We appreciate you watching the video.
Looks like it was quite the photogenic railroad back in that time. Who operates through Horace, KS these days? Looks like quite the sleepy prairie town these days for the railroad. Storage cars everywhere.
The Kansas & Oklahoma RR, part of the Watco family of lines, now operates almost 1,000 miles of track, from Wichita, KS in the east to the community of Towner in the west. West of Towner, into Colorado, the remaining track (now out of service, I believe) was operated by the V&S Railway until 2014 when they were forced to sell to Colorado Pacific.
That would be the Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad (K&O). The Colorado Pacific Railroad is currently operating between Towner, CO and NA Junction. And just to be clear, this line has been abandoned and removed east of Healy, Kansas, with the exception of Herington to Hope, and Geneseo to McCracken. Thank you for watching the video.
Yes, the east end of the line was already toast by the time Mr. Hadley filmed this portion of the route. The UP wanted this line gone, and they weren’t shy about advertising that fact. Thank you for watching and commenting.
Other Dan Hadley videos I would like to see on RUclips are: the LTV Mining Railroad, Chicago Rails in the Early 1990's, Illinois Central, Conrail, the UP Marysville Sub and the Wisconsin circus train.
Well, it depends on which section of this line you’re referring to. Around 200 miles of this route has been abandoned and removed. The longest intact portion is on the west end between Healy, Kansas and NA Junction in Colorado. The joint track between NA Junction and Pueblo is also still in service. Thank you for watching the video.
Those WC units were definitely being put to good use. It was quite common to see Wisconsin Central power on this line during 1997, due in part to the Geneva taconite trains. Thank you for watching the video.
We don’t blame you. This line was pretty impressive as a through route. The UP didn’t agree, unfortunately. We wish the K&O and Colorado Pacific the best of luck in operating what’s left. Thank you for watching.
In CO this line still has its rails in place and signals and switch’s but the rails are super rusted and vegetation and rocks have destroyed much of the line
It was tough to see this line slowly deteriorate over the years. However, there is some good news to share. The Colorado Pacific Railroad is currently operating between Towner and NA Junction. From what we’ve seen, things are going well. Thank you for the comment.
Colorado Pacific took over after V&S railways tried to sfcrap the line against Colorado's orders. They have been fairly successful as the farmers all wanted to use the line but V&S was jacking the prices too high to be useful (they really didnt want to operate out here). Their so successful in fact that Union Pacific has started to bring unit trains up to load at the new Stockton Rail Exchange approx 3 miles west of Towner.
Like two point two factors in this video: 1. Wisconsin Central power has been a common visitor to the SP ever since the two railraods began operating TACONITE trains in-between Mintac, MN & USX Geneva Steel in UTAH. WC power use to run on these trains all the way in both directions, but after arriavl of SP'S AC4400CW'S in 1995 they only went as far west as Pueblo, CO. However the end result was that they've manage to find themselves scattered system wide across SP'S territory making it as far west as California & Oregon but finding one of their GEEPS working TACONITE duty here is rather RARE & UNUSUAL. 2. Is their a location on this line called CODY? For in 1991 30 years back from 2021 two Rio Grande freights had a head on derailment there & three engines ended up being destroyed. Fortunatly no fatal injuries happened to the train crews working that day.
You nailed it with these factors, Colin. We found the presence of WC power on those taconite trains to be quite interesting. The SD45s were expected, but the GP40 was not! Next, you bring up the Cody collision. We had forgotten about this wreck, but yes. Not only was it on this line, but it was very near the location of the first scene east of Gypsum, Kansas. It’s tough to tell on satellite maps where the siding used to be, as the tracks are now long gone. But from what we could determine, Cody siding was just east of Gypsum. As you may know, the conductor of the westbound made a grievous error as the eastbound he was meeting approached the siding. For whatever reason, he lined the west siding switch reverse just before the eastbound reached him. The eastbound entered the siding at around 40 mph and collided with his train head on. Thankfully, everyone survived. To this day, there is no real explanation for his actions. However, there have been other cases of this exact scenario occurring elsewhere, most with tragic results. Thank you for staying versed on your railroad history.
@@CVisionProductions1 I found out about this incident in my tape "HEARTLAND REVIEW 91" from CRV PRODUCTIONS. The freights involved included a westbound empty unit coke train powered by a Rio Grande SD45 & an SP SD45T-2 (who was wrecked in the mishap) returning from Kansas City, MO - Grand Junction, CO symboled as the "KCGJU" who was parked in the siding to meet an eastbound. The eastbound was a RUN-THROUGH merchandiser from Grand Junction, CO - Norfolk Southern's East ST.Louis yard symboled as the "GJNSQ" Led by a pair of RUN-THROUGH CONRAIL SD50'S (Both wrecked in the mishap).
It would have been better if the federal government had never allowed mega-mergers of railroads to begin with. Missouri Pacific Lines should have stayed independent.
We’d have to agree with you on that, MJ. Mergers have helped the railroads consolidate routes and reduce costs, but it has all come at a price. Thank you for the comment.
90s were really a sweet spot for a lot of things including railroading. Aside from the steam era which I’ve never witnessed
We agree 100% We’re all about 90s nostalgia here at C. Vision, as you can probably tell. Thank you for the comment.
Talk about an outpost "terminal." I really think northwest Kansas is a little underrated when it comes to railfanning. I'm glad Dan had enough foresight to document the old MOP.
For sure, Joel. The peaceful plains of Kansas are truly a joy to experience. Storms, trains, history, and serene beauty… you really can’t go wrong out there.
I worked as a brakeman/conductor out of Osawatomie Ks for the MOP ran the west run to Council Grove many times also worked from Council Grove to Hosington Ks for a few years. As Topeka came up I worked the Topeka Local out of Osawatomie a few times we went west to Lomax and took the branch line up to Topeka. For those that Know after all these years I still dream about the bridge at the bottom of Lake hill going west! 35 years later. I love that west run good track well dispatched and smooth train operations. Thank you for the memories.
Thank you for sharing your memories!
I am a EMT and own the thrift store in Tribune K.S the county seat in Greeley. For those who are wondering, the line is still active here, its now operated by Kansas and Oklahoma since it changed ownership with Central Kansas Railway in 2001, and interchanges with the new railroad in Towner, Colorado Pacific. The depot is still there, but its in disrepair, we do see regular trains, well fairly regular.
Thank you for the information! It’s good to know that part of this line is still intact and active. We appreciate you watching the video.
I'm amazed so much WC power was leased by the UP and used on this route's final days.
The track between Herington and Hope is still in place and not cut off by paved over crossings until within Hope. Lindsborg has turned the right-of-way in its city limits into the Valkommen trail.
The K&O operates 80 miles of track between Geneseo and McCracken (with a wye near Geneseo connecting the route to Sterling. The 55 miles between McCracken and Healy are abandoned, where the K&O also operates the 17 miles to Scott City connecting to their ex-ATSF tracks. Those old ATSF tracks continue to NA Junction outside of Avondale, Colorado connecting with the BNSF Pueblo sub.
Thank you for the update! We appreciate you taking the time to share those details. Things sure have changed since 1997…
Fantiastic resurrection! Thanks Cvision!
Thank you, Riley! It was nice to finally get this video out. We’re glad that you enjoyed it.
That's awesome missouri pacific and union pacifc and I love this time frame lots good soft on line
Thank you, Taylor! This line was pretty interesting back in the 90s. We appreciate you watching the video.
@@CVisionProductions1 your welcome
Ooh, it sure is sad that the former Missouri Pacific line between Herington, Kansas and Pueblo, Colorado is now long gone, due to the end of operations on the Tennessee Pass line in 1997.
Thank you, Andrew. Watching the systematic abandonment and removal of the former MoPac main across Kansas was very unpleasant. Although the Union Pacific may have wanted to abandon this line in its entirety, there are still portions of it intact. The section through Gypsum is gone, as stated in the narration. Here’s how it breaks down: Osawatomie, KS to Herington, KS is long gone. Herington, KS to Hope, KS is intact (UP). Hope, KS to Geneseo, KS is gone. Geneseo, KS to McCracken, KS is intact (K&O). McCracken, KS to Healy, KS is gone. Healy, KS to NA Junction in Colorado is intact (K&O and Colorado Pacific). The joint track between NA Junction and Pueblo is also still intact, and is quite active thanks to BNSF traffic operating between Pueblo and La Junta. We appreciate the comment, as always.
@@CVisionProductions1 You're welcome.
Great video footage, thank you for sharing this! So many fun memories for me personally, as we documented east of Gypsum to Herington many times over the years in video and photos. Many chases, many old employees I got to know, and alot of footage I obtained in it's heyday. It was a busy line. Back when railroading was railroading. Hope you have more footage, or put more of it out on DVD.
Thank you very much! And you’re welcome. As for additional footage, this was all we could find. The videographer documented this line in just one day while passing through Kansas. We appreciate your interest in our videos.
Please tell me there is a longer video.. i would totally purchase a dvd of this line
Well, we absolutely appreciate that, but what you see here is all there will ever be. This line would be worthy of a longer video if additional footage existed. Either way, thank you for checking out the video.
Don't think I've ever seen footage of this line, so this is nice treat. I can see why UP abandoned it since they just got the Golden State Route with the SP acquisition, so the MoPac line became redundant.
True. This line was entirely parallel to Union Pacific's existing _Kansas Pacific_ (Denver Cutoff) line to the north. The former MP Kansas line's main utility was that it connected seamlessly with the former (DRGW) _Tennessee Pass_ route at Pueblo, Colorado. After UP acquired Espee/Rio Grande including the _Moffat Route,_ much of the (former DRGW) _Tennessee Pass_ line and this (former MP) line across Kansas became expendable.
@metalheadrailfan Thank you for appreciating this video. The UP thought they had everything figured out, that’s for sure.
@oubrioko Thank you for the detailed information. Everything you wrote was spot on.
Was the UP Salina, Sharon Springs and Limon Subdivisions owned by the Kansas Pacific Railroad and Missouri Pacific MoPac Railroad
Interesting video.
Much appreciated! We’re glad that you enjoyed it. Thank you for tuning in.
FINALLY get to see footage of this line!
We’re happy that we could bring it to you! Thank you for watching the video.
@@CVisionProductions1 No problem!
Hello. Sorry for the late comment. But do you mind telling what horn that is at 1:15?
That is perfectly fine. You are more than welcome to comment whenever it is convenient. As for your question, if you’re referring to the scene at Gypsum, that would be a Leslie RS3L. Thank you for watching the video.
When I first moved to Topeka in the early 90s this line went under the kansas turnpike just south of the admire ks exit. You could look off to the west and see a clear signal. Then one yr not knowing what UP's plans were the tracks were gone and the green signal extinguished forever.
It was pretty sad to watch the decline of this once-mighty mainline route. The UP had a plan, and it didn’t involve operating this line. They were careful to not let any other railroad “save” the route while it was still intact. Abandonment in sections worked for that. Thank you for the comment, Mike.
Armour yellow brought death to a lot of great lines.
Unfortunately, yes. The Modoc Line, Tennessee Pass, and this line were all doomed once the UP/SP merger was approved. We appreciate you watching the video.
Looks like it was quite the photogenic railroad back in that time. Who operates through Horace, KS these days?
Looks like quite the sleepy prairie town these days for the railroad. Storage cars everywhere.
The Kansas & Oklahoma RR, part of the Watco family of lines, now operates almost 1,000 miles of track, from Wichita, KS in the east to the community of Towner in the west. West of Towner, into Colorado, the remaining track (now out of service, I believe) was operated by the V&S Railway until 2014 when they were forced to sell to Colorado Pacific.
That would be the Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad (K&O). The Colorado Pacific Railroad is currently operating between Towner, CO and NA Junction. And just to be clear, this line has been abandoned and removed east of Healy, Kansas, with the exception of Herington to Hope, and Geneseo to McCracken. Thank you for watching the video.
The Council Grove Subdivision was already abandoned by then.
Yes, the east end of the line was already toast by the time Mr. Hadley filmed this portion of the route. The UP wanted this line gone, and they weren’t shy about advertising that fact. Thank you for watching and commenting.
Other Dan Hadley videos I would like to see on RUclips are: the LTV Mining Railroad, Chicago Rails in the Early 1990's, Illinois Central, Conrail, the UP Marysville Sub and the Wisconsin circus train.
Consider it done. Hopefully we can get most of those videos released in 2024. Thanks, MJ!
Awesome video!!!!!
Thank you very much!!!
3:35 Wonder whats in those hoppers. Pretty sure its not ore, they'd WAY overloaded I would think.
Well, we’re not sure on that. Whatever that commodity is, it has an interesting color. We appreciate you keeping an eye on those details.
Is this part of a video yall offer or a stand alone? Id love to see more of the old MoPac/ Espee line in Kansas.
This is the real deal. We used all the footage available. Thank you for your interest in the video.
Any update for the All orange RCPE
That video is planned for 2024. Thank you for your interest in C. Vision. Stay tuned!
@@CVisionProductions1happy 2024 I did some RCP&E railfanning but only saw 3 SD40-2s leaving the yard 3420, 3428, 3444. 3420 had the friendly crew
Happy 2024! Thank you. We hope this year is a great one for you.
So, is there enough footage for a full length film? Or is this all of it?
We used every scene available. The videographer was en route to the Tennessee Pass line when he captured this footage. Thank you for asking.
If I’m not mistaken this line is still in tact and has trains on it
Well, it depends on which section of this line you’re referring to. Around 200 miles of this route has been abandoned and removed. The longest intact portion is on the west end between Healy, Kansas and NA Junction in Colorado. The joint track between NA Junction and Pueblo is also still in service. Thank you for watching the video.
2:48 Wisconsin Central are you lost?
Those WC units were definitely being put to good use. It was quite common to see Wisconsin Central power on this line during 1997, due in part to the Geneva taconite trains. Thank you for watching the video.
Would take this over the K&O 9/10 days.
We don’t blame you. This line was pretty impressive as a through route. The UP didn’t agree, unfortunately. We wish the K&O and Colorado Pacific the best of luck in operating what’s left. Thank you for watching.
Back when the railroads gave you a toot of the horn and a friendly wave
Yes, sir. The friendly days of railroading. Thank you for the comment.
In CO this line still has its rails in place and signals and switch’s but the rails are super rusted and vegetation and rocks have destroyed much of the line
It was tough to see this line slowly deteriorate over the years. However, there is some good news to share. The Colorado Pacific Railroad is currently operating between Towner and NA Junction. From what we’ve seen, things are going well. Thank you for the comment.
Colorado Pacific took over after V&S railways tried to sfcrap the line against Colorado's orders. They have been fairly successful as the farmers all wanted to use the line but V&S was jacking the prices too high to be useful (they really didnt want to operate out here). Their so successful in fact that Union Pacific has started to bring unit trains up to load at the new Stockton Rail Exchange approx 3 miles west of Towner.
@sterlingodeaghaidh5086 We appreciate the update! It’s good to know that the Colorado Pacific is committed to growing their business.
Like two point two factors in this video:
1. Wisconsin Central power has been a common visitor to the SP ever since the two railraods began operating TACONITE trains in-between Mintac, MN & USX Geneva Steel in UTAH. WC power use to run on these trains all the way in both directions, but after arriavl of SP'S AC4400CW'S in 1995 they only went as far west as Pueblo, CO. However the end result was that they've manage to find themselves scattered system wide across SP'S territory making it as far west as California & Oregon but finding one of their GEEPS working TACONITE duty here is rather RARE & UNUSUAL.
2. Is their a location on this line called CODY? For in 1991 30 years back from 2021 two Rio Grande freights had a head on derailment there & three engines ended up being destroyed. Fortunatly no fatal injuries happened to the train crews working that day.
You nailed it with these factors, Colin. We found the presence of WC power on those taconite trains to be quite interesting. The SD45s were expected, but the GP40 was not! Next, you bring up the Cody collision. We had forgotten about this wreck, but yes. Not only was it on this line, but it was very near the location of the first scene east of Gypsum, Kansas. It’s tough to tell on satellite maps where the siding used to be, as the tracks are now long gone. But from what we could determine, Cody siding was just east of Gypsum. As you may know, the conductor of the westbound made a grievous error as the eastbound he was meeting approached the siding. For whatever reason, he lined the west siding switch reverse just before the eastbound reached him. The eastbound entered the siding at around 40 mph and collided with his train head on. Thankfully, everyone survived. To this day, there is no real explanation for his actions. However, there have been other cases of this exact scenario occurring elsewhere, most with tragic results. Thank you for staying versed on your railroad history.
@@CVisionProductions1 I found out about this incident in my tape "HEARTLAND REVIEW 91" from CRV PRODUCTIONS. The freights involved included a westbound empty unit coke train powered by a Rio Grande SD45 & an SP SD45T-2 (who was wrecked in the mishap) returning from Kansas City, MO - Grand Junction, CO symboled as the "KCGJU" who was parked in the siding to meet an eastbound. The eastbound was a RUN-THROUGH merchandiser from Grand Junction, CO - Norfolk Southern's East ST.Louis yard symboled as the "GJNSQ" Led by a pair of RUN-THROUGH CONRAIL SD50'S (Both wrecked in the mishap).
Gotcha. We’ve seen that video mentioned before. You’re lucky to have a copy of it. Thanks again, Colin!
@@CVisionProductions1 No problem once again.
It would have been better if the federal government had never allowed mega-mergers of railroads to begin with. Missouri Pacific Lines should have stayed independent.
We’d have to agree with you on that, MJ. Mergers have helped the railroads consolidate routes and reduce costs, but it has all come at a price. Thank you for the comment.