Author Topic: ...following the historic Kansas-Pacific Railroad [many and mostly photographs]  (Read 9650 times)

Offline Daniel Kalal

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The Kansas-Pacific Railroad crucial to the settlement of  Kansas and the Great Plains.  By 1870 the line was completed between Kansas  City and Denver, finally linking both coasts by a transcontinental rail*.
 
I'll be riding the full length of that historic line hitting every  depot and town along the way (at least, the ones that existed at that time).
 
The Kansas-Pacific was chartered by the United States and included twenty miles of land  extending each side of the proposed rails that would then be sold by the company  to fund construction, in addition to bonds that it would also issue.  The  towns in the map (below) are often fanciful, and never existed and never  would.  Others  are now under different names.  I'll do my best to find them.
 
* The more famous joining of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific at  Promontory Point, Utah still required a ferry crossing at the Missouri  River.
 

 
Construction began in 1863, laying rails west from Kansas City,  during which the company  was confusingly called the Union Pacific Eastern Division (even though there  was no connection to the Union Pacific Railroad).  The name would  change in 1869 and then several years later would become part of the Union Pacific (as  it is, today).
 
 
 
(it might not really have been built by blood-stained spikes)
 
I'll be following a list of towns provided by the Kansas Heritage  Group (a non-profit). In most cases, the towns still exist under their original name.   A few have a new name; the rest are gone--perhaps surviving only by the name  on a dirt road.
 
The route was called the “Golden Belt Route.”  This is useful to  know as frequently I'd find myself riding next to the rails on Golden Road.   The old highway that later followed the rails was also called the Golden  Belt Route before U.S. highways were assigned uniform numbers.
 
Missouri
 
The current Union Station in Kansas City replaced a rather ornate building in  a different location.  But, even that older station would not have been  built to serve the Kansas-Pacific.  Back before even the concept of a Union  Station was thought of, each competitor railroad had its own station--creating a real  headache if you needed to transfer across lines.
 
But, no matter; let's begin here.  This is Union Station, looking east...
 

 
...and an older view, looking west.  Amtrak serves the station  today, but two trains each day is  trivial compared to the traffic it saw during the boom years before the war.
 

 
Two locomotives are working hard bringing a coal train through the city.   There's another engine at the rear.  There are fewer tracks than  there once were, and none are under cover as is shown in the above image.
 

 
Kansas
 
Muncie is the first station outside Kansas City.  These days, of course,  the region is still part of the Kansas City metropolitan area.  Across the  tracks is a large factory (The  Griffin Wheel Company) that makes railcar wheels--and has been doing so  since 1877.
 
 
 
Edwardsville, Kansas.  Edwardsville is typical of many of the towns  seen along the way.  It hardly exists anymore.  Often times,  the street that crosses the tracks will still retain the name of the town,  but that's sometimes all that is left.
 

 
Forest Lake, Kansas.  Curiously, nearby is a bedroom community with  the more fanciful name of “Lake of the Forest.”  I wonder why it was  changed?  At any rate, there's not much to say of Forest Lake, today.
 
 
 
Sunflower, Kansas.  The old maps are full of nice sounding towns  with names like “Sunflower.”  Did this ever really exist (beyond the  probable station)?  I found nothing.
 

 
Bonner Springs, Kansas.
 
In almost every case, the road that  parallels the track will be called “Front Street.”  The primary road  perpendicular to the track is “Main Street.”  There are a few choices  to name the roads that parallel Main Street.  Using names of trees is very  popular, and U.S. presidents (starting with Washington) is also common.  Least imaginative is to use A, B, C, etc.  The streets  parallel to Front Street are generally just numbered (leaving out 1st  street, of course).  It's a standard “T” layout, and makes getting  around a town as easy in one as the next.
 

 
Following Golden Road.  Throughout the ride, I'd find myself on Golden  Road.  This is a holdover from the Golden Belt highway that paralleled the  tracks.  When  highway numbers were assigned, the Golden Belt highway became U.S. 40 (at least  in Kansas and Colorado).
 

 
Following the Kansas River.  Of course, a river was the original pathway  through the Great Plains long before the railroad.  The route of the railroad was mostly defined by  available water and low grades--but avoiding being flooded during high water.
 

 
De Soto, Kansas for breakfast (this town is not on the railroad, but I've  got to eat someplace).
 
   
 
Lenape, Kansas (was Armstrong).  Why did some towns change their  name from what was assigned by the railroad?  Very likely, the post office  objected to duplicate or similar names.
 

 
The Armstrong roundhouse.  Something might remain, but perhaps it's  just a soybean field, now.  You can see something of the town roads in  Lenape, but those are little more than driveways to the occasional house.   Unless you knew, you would not even think this was a town.
 

 
Linwood, Kansas.
 

 
Fall Leaf, Kansas (was Horne).  The dirt road I was on was called Fall  Leaf Road, so I knew I was on the right track (so to speak).  There were a  few houses, but nothing of any town remains.
 

 
The Kansas River is never far away.
 

 
Lawrence Junction, Kansas (reached November, 1864).  Often, while the  railroad followed the north side of the Kansas River, the towns (the ones  that thrived, anyway) developed on the south side.  This left the stations  somewhat isolated from the core of the town--at least until the Santa Fe  railroad built their tracks on the south side of the river.  That's the case for the  college town of Lawrence.  It's nice to see the station still here,  however, even if it's no longer part of railroading.
 

 
 
 
Midland, Kansas.  Midland still has a feed store / gas station under  that name.  The school has clearly been used for something else for many  years.
 

 
 
 
Buck Creek, Kansas.  You perhaps cannot tell in the photograph, but one  of the buildings at the end of the dirt road still has a sign that says “Buck  Creek.”  The town is now just part of the private ranch house and out-buildings.
 

 
I gather that this bridge crosses over Buck Creek.
 
 
 
Williamstown, Kansas.  The paved Main Street ends at the track.  As  is almost always the case, there is no station building left--just open space  where it once was.
 

 
Perry, Kansas.
 

 
This obelisk was erected in 1930 by a son in memory of his mother. Why this and why here?  I have no idea.
 

 
Medina, Kansas.  I'm on Medina Road, and I'm quite sure that those few  buildings are part of what was once the town of Medina.
 

 
Newman, Kansas.  It looks like Front Street and Main Street have been  named (perhaps renamed?) Newman Lane and Newman Road--seems a bit confusing to  me
 

 
Grantville, Kansas.
 

 
Notice the same bridge is seen in this vintage photograph of Grantville.
 

 
Topeka, Kansas (reached in 1865).  Union Station survives, but is  now fenced off from the rails.  Today's Amtrak follows the old Atchison  Topeka and Santa Fe rails and its (far smaller) depot is on the south side of  the river.
 

 

 

 
 
 
A grain train crossing the Kansas River while I wait to cross the rails.  We'll stay on the north side.
 

 
Grain accounts for much of the rail traffic you'll see, today--that, and  coal.  A hundred-car train looks to be carrying an unimaginable amount  of wheat until you see it next to this elevator (look to the left of the  photograph).  How many rail cars to fill all of this?  And, there  are many others just like this one.
 

 
Menoken, Kansas.  The road remains; that is all.
 
 
 
Silver Lake, Kansas.
 

 
Kingsville, Kansas.  I'm not sure if that building in the background  was ever part of Kingsville--perhaps.  Certainly, any sign of the old  station is gone.
 

 

 
Rossville, Kansas.
 

 
St Mary's Mission.  The mission predates the current town of St. Mary  (it was founded in 1847 as a Jesuit mission along the old Oregon Trail).   This memorial arch that commemorates World War 1 dead gives an insight to the  importance of the railroad to the town at the time.  Only those who arrived  by train would pass through it and hardly anybody arrived by road.
 

 

 
Belvue, Kansas.  If nothing else, they get to correct the spelling  of their town (it's not Bellevue as you'd expect).
 

 
Almost always, where the railroad station and supporting warehouses  used to be, only grass remains.
 

 
Wamego, Kansas (the name is from a Potawatomi chief).
 

 
St. George, Kansas.
 

 
I prefer the pavement of today.
 

 
Surprise!  The old depot remains.
 

 
Grain stored in a large silo can put an enormous hoop-load on a  structure.  Today, steel easily handles the stress, but if all you have  is wood, you need to make sure it's very strong.  This type of  construction, using wide, stacked planks, is certainly strong, but you'd  better have a good wood supply.  It's not common in Kansas.
 
 
 
Manhattan, Kansas (reached 1866).  I believe the station is where it's  always been, but you'll see nothing of whatever buildings used to be here.   All you'll see within several blocks is hotel after hotel.  Downtown  Manhattan is now more connected to the University (Kansas State) and the highway than the railroad.
 

 
Theodore Roosevelt visits Manhattan.  Today's Union Pacific tracks  are still here (to the left of the photograph), but all the other rails you  see have been replaced by a broad street (except the short bit in front of the  station).
 

 
Ogden, Kansas.  The town began here; it's now a couple blocks north.
 

 
Pawnee, Kansas does not exist.  And yet, this was once the capital  of Kansas Territory (for five days), and that's the capitol building.   It was Jefferson Davis (then Secretary of War and not yet President of the  Confederate States) who ordered Fort Riley to expand and therefore eliminate  the town that had been founded by anti-slavery activists (Davis, of course,  supporting the pro-slavery faction).
 

 
The footpath down to the Kansas River.  How many foot soldiers and  mounted cavalry have  crossed this river during training, and how many times has the Army Corp of  Engineers built a temporary bridge across it?
 
 
 
Ft. Riley, Kansas.  This is the old depot, but there are large  staging areas where entire troop trains could be loaded with men and  equipment.
 

 

 
Ft. Riley.  The post was created in 1853.   This is the parade  ground.
 

 
   
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
The Ft. Riley Cemetery.  The first two rows near the stone fence are for Axis soldiers.  They face the opposite direction from  the American soldiers.
 

 
Confederate and U.S. unknowns, and German and Italian soldiers.
 

 
Junction City, Kansas (reached October, 1866).  The Kansas-Pacific  originally went right through the Fort and then through adjacent Junction City, but things  have shifted considerably south, today.
 

 
We're down to just a single track.  Actually, much of the line is  double-tracked, but I notice that many bridges are still single-track.   I don't know that the line is busy enough for this to be much of a  scheduling  problem.
 

 
U.S. 40.  Most of the time, the old highway retains the old number, but  in the form of a county road and not a real U.S. highway.  In some  cases, it's just a dirt road.
 

 
Chapman, Kansas.
 

 
Some buildings are still recognizable.  Evidently, stop signs  weren't a necessity.
 

 
Chapman is the hometown of Joe Engle.
 
   
 
Detroit, Kansas.  A few houses (and a bar) on the north side of the  tracks, and grain storage on the south.
 

 

 
Abilene, Kansas (reached 1867).  The Kansas-Pacific largely created  Abilene as a cattle loading town for shipping east to Chicago.  It was the  prototype for all other cow towns to come.
 

 
 
 
Solomon City, Kansas.
 

 

 
New Cambria, Kansas.  I have an appreciation for people who live in a  town with no paved streets.
 

 
 
 
Salina, Kansas (reached April, 1867).
 

 
I found the old station.  Ironically (considering that you'll cross  some twenty tracks if you take Main Street all the way through town) there  are no longer any tracks next to the depot.  Salina remains a rail  shipping center.
 

 
Bavaria, Kansas.  I suppose the school will remain until somebody finds  more value in the old bricks (as has happened to many similar schools across  Kansas).
 
 
 
Brookville, Kansas (reached 1867).  The town was (for a time) the end of the  line and had a significant maintenance depot.  For many years, the Brookville  Hotel served chicken dinners in the original old building (I've eaten there  several times, myself).  But, the restaurant moved to Abilene, and the old  hotel is gone.  Time moves on...
 

 

 
The station of Rock Spring was on the list, but I couldn't find anything by  that name.  I did see, however, the name Terra Cotta.  That must be  it; let's go and find it--it's got to be down this road.
 

 
This is Terra Cotta, Kansas (assumed to be old Rock Spring).  Except  for the rail switch (and the utility building) there's nothing left of a  town or depot.
 
 
 
Carniero, Kansas.  The name is Portuguese for “sheep” or “mutton.”
 

 
It has a good-sized hotel near the tracks, a few houses and a two story  school, but Carniero is mostly empty.
 
   
 
Kannapolis, Kansas.  Summit Siding is the name on my list, but it must be  Kannapolis, which is on the site of Fort Harker.  The fort was established  in 1864--so would have been here when the railroad came through.
 

 
Ellsworth, Kansas (reached June, 1867).
 

 
What's this?  It's the depot for Terra Cotta.  How nice.   Somebody with an appreciation for history has moved it from its remote  location (likely just in time before it was demolished by the railroad) and  moved it next to the tracks here in Ellsworth.  Good for them.   I'll bet not many people who see this building have also been to the original  site.
 

 
Black Wolf, Kansas.  Plenty of grain storage, but not much of a town.
 

 
Wilson, Kansas bills itself as the Czech capital of Kansas.
 

 
The old opera house is being rebuilt after a recent devastating fire.   That's the world's largest Czech egg if you believe the sign.
 
   
 
My lunch might not be authentic Czech (it's authentic Kansas), but the Kolche  (koláč) mostly is (poppy seed, of course).
 
 
 
Dorrance, Kansas.  Sometimes the only way to photograph a town is to  step back.
 

 
Bunker Hill, Kansas.
 

 
Russell, Kansas (reached 1867).
 

 

 
Gorham, Kansas.
 

 
Walker, Kansas.  The churches in this area have the same yellow  stone of the Cotswolds area of England.
 

 
Highway 40.  Sometimes it's paved within the town, but outside of  town, it reverts to dirt.  You cannot trust your map to be accurate  about this.
 

 
Victoria, Kansas.
 

 
The Basilica of St. Fidelis was built (or at least finished) in 1911.   It's often called The Cathedral of the Plains, but it isn't actually a  cathedral.
 

 
Hays, Kansas (reached October, 1867).
 

 
You can envision the station and all the supporting buildings, but  they're gone.
 

 
Work continues (in 1867) on the Kansas-Pacific not far west of Hays.   Just supplying all these men with food and water must have been an  achievement.  The needed steel rails and ties must have been continuous  with support-trains running back and forth to Kansas City.  It's no  wonder that towns developed simply to support all this.
 

 
Ellis, Kansas (reached 1867).
 

 
The station remains...
 
   
 
...as does a bit of the old name “Golden Belt” on that co-op building.
 
 
 
 Ellis, Kansas not long after the rails are laid.
 
 
 
Ogallah, Kansas.  A photograph of a dirt intersection will have to do.
 

 
Wakeeney, Kansas (was Trego).  That first name didn't last.  A  couple of land speculators (Mr. Keeney and Mr. Warren) combined their name, and  there you go: Wakeeney. The “Queen City of the High Plains.”
 

 

 
Voda, Kansas.  The word means “water” in Slavic.  This area was  settled by Slavs from Russia.  Was there really much “Voda” to be found?   I'm not sure.  In any event, the town doesn't exist, so perhaps not.
 

 

 
Collyer, Kansas.
 

 

 
Quinter, Kansas.
 

 
Park (was Buffalo Park).  Evidently, in 1898 the post office reduced the  name to “Park”, and that's what you'll see on a map.  It's good to see that  today's railroad (Union Pacific) keeps the old name.
 

 

 
Buffalo.  There's a reason for the original name.  Yes; this is  the railroad that was behind those stories you heard in school about  shooting thousands of buffalo from the train  Buffalo Bill Cody  claimed to have killed 4,280 bison (he was hired by the railroad to do that).
 

 
Grainfield, Kansas.
 

 
How to keep track...
 
I had a listing of all the names, along with the  latitude and longitude for those cases to help where the town was not shown on  the map--and certainly there would be no road signs.  Taking this sort  of photograph each time helps me know which shot is from  which town.  Yes; they do all look alike.
 

 
Grinnell, Kansas.
 

 
Campus, Kansas.  Just behind me is a new Ethanol plant.  The “fresh  bread” smell is wonderful.
 

 
Oakley, Kansas (was Carlyle).
 

 
 
 
Monument, Kansas.
 

 
I'm almost certain that this building next to the tracks was once the  hotel.
 
 
 
Page City, Kansas.
 

 
Winona, Kansas.
 

 
Along the way...
 

 
The Fort Wallace post cemetery.  There are no signs of Fort Wallace  (it wasn't used long), but the cemetery remains and continued as the  cemetery for the town of Wallace (those markers are behind me).
 

 
Wallace, Kansas.
 

 
That's the railroad section house on the left.
 
 
 
Sharon Springs, Kansas.
 

 

 
Weskan, Kansas (was Monotony).  I can see why they might want to change  the name from “Monotony”, but really, I think they should have kept it as it was.
 

 
Colorado
 
The state line (reached 1870).
 

 
That's Arapahoe, Colorado on the horizon.
 

 
Cheyenne Wells, Colorado.
 

 
The old railroad hotel building still exists (below, right).  That's  the courthouse on the left.
 
 
 
First View, Colorado.  It's tempting to think that this was the first  view of the Rocky Mountains, but I think we're still too far for that.   Anyway, it's the crest of a fair-sized hill, so it's the first view of  something, that's certain.
 

 
Kit Carson, Colorado.
 

 
Boyero on the horizon.  I'm looking for a town (named Mirage) that probably  never existed except as a support depot during the construction of the railroad.   But, Boyero is in the right spot, so I'm pretty sure this is it.
 

 
The Boyero Post Office.  That's it.  While here, a man drove up to  get his mail.  I asked about “Mirage” but he hadn't heard of it (his father  was also from here and he knew a good deal of the area and its history).
 

 
Boyero, Colorado.  I was told that this was a  good-sized town before the war (on par with Hugo, perhaps larger), but afterwards, it dried up and people moved  away.  My motorcycle (above) is parked on old U.S. 40.  When that  highway was moved a few miles east (now U.S. 287)--and particularly when I-70 was built many  miles to the north--nobody had any reason to come here, and every reason to  leave.
 

 
The old service station still has the name.
 
   
 
...on the way.  If not for those noisy meadowlarks, it would have  been very quiet.
 

 
Antelope playing.  I didn't see any deer.
 
 
 
Hugo, Colorado.  The rails are on the left.  Those clouds are a  concern.  It has become very windy and is getting colder.
 

 
Limon, Colorado (reached 1870).  The route of I-70 has now rejoined the  route of the rails (and the old Golden Belt Highway).
 

 
Limon appreciates its railroad history and has a nice collection of  equipment.  The old station building is still here, too.
 
   
 
Deer Trail, Colorado.  There's a broad area of open land between the  rails and the town.  Likely there were once multiple rails at this  shipping center.
 

 

 
Rails to the west.  The wind is now very strong out of the north and  it's raining very hard west of me--but that system is developing towards the  northeast, so I might be fine.  It's odd how the big storms move  northeast while the surface wind is simultaneously strong out of the north.
 

 
Byers, Colorado.  By now, semi-trucks were moving laterally across  the lanes without warning and all sorts of big things were blowing across the highway.  I  parked in front of the hardware store in Byers (the white building farther  down), and waited an hour for things to settle down.
 
That was a good opportunity to talk with the hardware store owner about  the history of Byers and the region.  It was from him that I learned  that the road south out of Bennett had been recently paved its entire length (so  my map wasn't correct).
 

 
Strasburg, Colorado (was Comanche Crossing) completed August, 1870.
 

 
While the Kansas-Pacific was building west towards Denver, another crew  was building east to meet them.  The two teams met near Comanche  Crossing after a frantic last day's competition towards a barrel of whiskey.   The winning team put down over ten miles of track in just nine hours--a  record.
 
The meeting of the tracks at Promontory Point Utah is rightly celebrated,  but there will always be a footnote that gives credit to Strasburg for being  the point where the transcontinental railroad became a reality (and not just  a definition).
 
 
 
Bennett, Colorado is the last station before Denver, less than thirty  miles away--the Rocky Mountains looming.  Today, however, I could tell  that Denver was--just this minute--taking quite a beating from the storm.
 

 
Denver, Colorado.  As with the station in Kansas City, this large  Union Station in the center of Denver dates after the Kansas-Pacific made  the final connection.  In any event, I wasn't risking steady 70 mph  winds to see it.
 

 
And so ends the trip to follow the length of the Kansas-Pacific Railroad.  By hitting every stop, I had an appreciation for why the surveyors took the  route they did.  From the beginning, the rails were hardly ever out of  my sight.  My viewpoint was therefore as things once were (connected by rail) and  not how they are today.
 
Running south on the Kiowa-Bennett Road and some fresh pavement (and some  old, rough pavement).  At 60 mph I could put my arm straight out and not  even feel a breeze.  It's cold, so I'm not too worried about cooling my  air-cooled engine (which generally runs cool anyway).
 

 
I thought I'd been on all the paved roads in eastern Colorado, so I was  pleased to find this new one.
 
Kiowa, Colorado.
 

 
And on and on. The storm behind me is growing (the view is looking back to  the north), and seemingly growing towards me, but I'm able to stay in front and  only hit sprinkles of rain.  I made the right choice to turn south and not  try for Denver.  On the other hand, there are no hotels anywhere near,  should I need to stop for the evening.
 

 
Elbert, Colorado.
 

 
The Rocky Mountains (Pike's Peak), not far away.  A view that has not  changed for centuries.
 

 
I'm running on county roads that see very little traffic.  You have only  to look at the grass to see how hard the wind is blowing.
 

 
Yoder, Colorado.
 
Is the road south of Yoder paved all the way?   My plan was to stop in Yoder and ask.  Trouble is, there doesn't seem  to be much of Yoder to call a town.  Onward...
 

 
Running south, always in front of the rain.
 

 
The Boone Road looked pretty good.  I was thinking good thoughts  that it would be paved all the way.  There were no signs to say  otherwise.
 
That is, until I  crossed the county line and the pavement ended.   Twenty miles of soft dirt and gravel.
 

 
Looking back north, into the wind.  I'm not riding very fast, and at  times I'd let completely off the throttle but still maintain a good pace  just by the pushing wind.  Keep moving.
 

 
A few miles north of Boone the pavement returned.  Wonderful!   I parked for this shot between two small hills.  I had concern that the  crosswind (this bit of road points west) would tip the bike over.  It  was even difficult to stand just to take this picture.
 
It's not so evident here, but the wind had kicked up dirt and dust so the sky was  now brown/yellow; it was as if I were riding in a fog.
 

 
Fowler, Colorado.  We're now on the route of the Santa Fe Railroad.
 

 
La Junta, Colorado has a pretty good little cafe where I've often stopped for breakfast.   Their biscuits are recommended.
 

 
 
 
I am just in time to see the eastbound Southwest Chief #3 at the depot.
 

   
I'll not bother stopping at every Santa Fe Railroad town on the way back.
 
Nice trip.  You can't make much progress stopping at every town, but  that's what the train did, as well.

oldbike54

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 Yes the biscuits in La Junta are wonderful  :food:

 Thanks Deke .

 Dusty

Offline StuCorpe

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Well Done! :thumb: :thumb:

Online Gliderjohn

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Daniel, did you stop at the old B-29 AF training base outside of Walker? At it's peak it had 5,000 personnel.
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Offline rboe

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My memory was piqued which lead to a long search through photo's. Sure enough, in 2013 we had lunch in Grainfield KS while on the way to Dodge City. Was only able to ID through the Opera House picture I took. :D

Thanks!
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Offline chuck peterson

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amazing  :thumb:
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Offline M0T0Geezer

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What a great report.  The photos are fantastic.  I know it took a huge amount of time to take, catalogue, and publish them here.  Thank you, thank you !

I often travel between Denver (near where I live these days) and Kansas City - always along I-70  (bo-ring).  It's nice to see photos from many of the little drive-by towns that I've never seen.

I hope you share your photos and comments with some Kansas & Colorado Historical orgs.

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Offline john fish

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Great stuff.  Thank you.  I like all the pictures but the pics of food remind me of just how good the Midwest is at mealtime.   :food:
« Last Edit: April 12, 2016, 09:26:29 PM by john fish »
He lost the run of himself.

twowings

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Enjoyed reading this very much!

Moto

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What a thoughtful travelog. Thank you!

Offline leroysch

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As always, a treat to read. Thank you.
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Limon, Colorado (reached 1870).  The route of I-70 has now rejoined the  route of the rails (and the old Golden Belt Highway).
 

 
Limon appreciates its railroad history and has a nice collection of  equipment.  The old station building is still here, too.
 
   
 

Awesome trip and report!   :thumb:

Limon wasn't there in 1870 when Union Pacific pushed through to Denver.

In 1888 The Rock Island crossed the Union Pacific line on it's way to Colorado Springs.  And a Union Depot was built.

Limon became a fairly important interchange between Union Pacific and Rock Island. 

Rock Island's "Rocky Mountain Rocket" from Chicago was split at Limon.  Half running to Colorado Springs, and the other half running via Union Pacific tracks to Denver.


Michael T.
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"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." - Theodore Roosevelt

oldbike54

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 Brother Mike , you are a fount of historical information  :bow: I spent a very interesting couple of days in Limon a few years back , very fond memories .

 Dusty

Offline rocker59

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Brother Mike , you are a fount of historical information  :bow: I spent a very interesting couple of days in Limon a few years back , very fond memories .

 Dusty

Rock Island is "my railroad".  We stopped by Limon Union Depot last June, on the way home from The 2015 WildGuzzi Western Adventure and Colorado Classic 1000.

Pretty neat little place, out on the prairie.

Michael T.
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"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." - Theodore Roosevelt

Offline Daniel Kalal

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Limon wasn't there in 1870 when Union Pacific pushed through to Denver.

Yes; it's remarkable how late a start most all those eastern Colorado towns had.  In 1870 (when the rails went through), the Kansas-Pacific hadn't yet been bought (or consumed or whatever Jay Gould and Co. called it) by the Union-Pacific. I suppose the KP must have had something at that location, if only to service the engines.  I've not read anywhere what it might have been called.  Names of places seemed pretty fluid.

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 Daniel, many thanks for your excellent report incl all the photos. I notice that you don't have the panniers attached to your Bike. I also don't usually bother with them on my Stelvio, preferring a soft bag across the seat, a top box and sometimes a tank bag. May I ask why you didn't use them on this trip?

Cheers
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I love your reports. Thank you.

Offline Muzz

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What a great report.  The photos are fantastic.  I know it took a huge amount of time to take, catalogue, and publish them here.  Thank you, thank you !

And a BIG  :1: from me. Just brilliant thanks Daniel.
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Outstanding - felt like I was riding along with you! 
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Offline Lotsahorses

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Daniel,  I always look forward to your posts.   You are quite the traveler.  Its such a gift to every one of us to get to join in.    :bow:
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Another trip through time.. Thanks again, Daniel.. :thumb:
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Offline Daniel Kalal

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...May I ask why you didn't use them on this trip?

I've used the panniers on just a couple of trips--when I was carrying a tent and sleeping bag--but that yellow duffle bag serves me very well all other times.  I've used it on trips of up to four weeks.  I don't own a rear trunk or a tank bag so cannot comment on those.  When used with lift-out liners, the panniers are convenient, but they're also big draggy sails hanging out there in the wind.

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Excellent!   As a railroad buff, I enjoy riding the old highways that follow the rails.  Old towns have a variety of interesting architectural examples of days gone by.  Some are simply amazing.  Thanks.

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Yes; it's remarkable how late a start most all those eastern Colorado towns had.  In 1870 (when the rails went through), the Kansas-Pacific hadn't yet been bought (or consumed or whatever Jay Gould and Co. called it) by the Union-Pacific. I suppose the KP must have had something at that location, if only to service the engines.  I've not read anywhere what it might have been called.  Names of places seemed pretty fluid.

The KP/UP facility in the area was at Hugo, 15 miles southeast of Limon.  The 1908 roundhouse (2nd one for Hugo) still stands at the NW end of 3rd Street.  Hugo began as a stage stop and a center of commerce for ranchers in 1859 and was officially founded in 1870 with the arrival of the railroad.

Limon started as a work camp for Rock Island construction crews and was named for a Rock Island construction supervisor, John Limon. 

A link to some history of Hugo:  http://hugoroundhouse.org/timetable.htm



« Last Edit: April 13, 2016, 09:25:05 AM by rocker59 »
Michael T.
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"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." - Theodore Roosevelt

Offline Daniel Kalal

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...Hugo...roundhouse still stands...

Funny thing about that roundhouse.  I saw it, and also saw plenty of men working on it.  But, it looks so new that I dismissed it as just a period-design for a museum that was planned, so didn't take a picture of it.  Later, when I was talking with the hardware store owner in Beyers I found out that it was the original, which was under restoration.  I don't know when the rail museum will open.

oldbike54

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 Deke , my maternal grandfather was the roundhouse/yard foreman in Afton Oklahoma for the last 26 years of a 52 year career with the old Frisco RR . He was forced to retire in 1964 , which kind of broke his heart . He was in Afton during the heyday of the lead mines in Picher and the coal mines in that area including SE Kansas . What I'm saying is , every time you post RR threads it brings back so many fond memories of time spent around my grandfather and Afton . Thanks so very much for doing these types of threads , they bring a huge smile .

 Dusty

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  Thanks so very much for doing these types of threads , they bring a huge smile .

 Dusty


I second that.
Michael T.
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"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." - Theodore Roosevelt

Offline pebra

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Choo-choo! Thanks Daniel, great Reading and viewing!
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Bottler

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Quote from: Daniel Kalal link=topic=82837.msg1308540#msg1308540 date=1460549362

 they're also big draggy sails hanging out there in the wind.
[/quote

Daniel,

Totally agree about "big draggy sails", which is why I rarely use them.

Offline Rich M

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Fantastic thread and thanks for sharing
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