Grandview, MP 22.7

Discussion in 'Clinton Subdivision' started by Karl, Mar 10, 2007.

  1. tferk

    tferk Member Frisco.org Supporter

    Smokey Hill had the UP Centennial and a UP GE Turbine parked on the old KC Public Service tracks at Dodson, on the west side of the UP main track, for several years. I believe they were both sold to Illinois Railway Museum.
     
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  2. Aaron DeShazo

    Aaron DeShazo Member

    Wow, how much did Smokey Hill have total? And are there any pictures of the old Dodson depot (if there was one?)
     
  3. Karl

    Karl 2008 Engineer of the Year Frisco.org Supporter

    The Smoky Hill RR bought the Highline between Dodson and Harrisonville.

    The KCS got the line between Grandview and 150th St.

    The line was abandoned between Dodson and Grandview. Smoky Hill operated the line from 150th St. to Peculiar. The line between Peculiar and Harrisonville was abandoned. The money received from the scrapper for the rail, ties, and other track material (OTM) was used to finance the purchase. Ultimately, financial problems caused Smoky Hill to scrap the line from Cambridge Rd to Peculiar.

    Just after the sale, my brother and I motor cared the line from Dodson to Harrisonville to conduct a rail inventory. Pictures from that trip are attached. It was a bitterly cold ride as I recall.

    Sct40714010606390.jpg
    I think that this is at MP D32.6

    Sct40714010606410.jpg
    MP D45, Harrisonville looking railroad south. The former MKT connection diverges to the left. The crossing with the MP has been removed.

    Sct40714010606400.jpg
    Bridge D41.1 Approximately 4 miles south of Peculiar
     
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  4. Karl

    Karl 2008 Engineer of the Year Frisco.org Supporter

    The was a passenger shelter (no depot) and water tank at Dodson. Collias's book, Frisco Power, has a picture. The attached picture is at Dodson. My dad had borrowed the signal maintainer's car. The structures were located along the tree line, which is in the background of the photo.

    dodson_motor_car.JPG
     
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  5. Karl

    Karl 2008 Engineer of the Year Frisco.org Supporter

    Thanks for jogging my memory about this Ted.
     
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  6. Aaron DeShazo

    Aaron DeShazo Member

    Cool! So is the speeder on the Frisco track and the cross tracks the MP?

    I did some exploring around the current Dodson area and there’s almost no sign of where the Frisco track went down south, Though there is a bit of rail from what seems to be an old crossing along 85th St.
     
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  7. Aaron DeShazo

    Aaron DeShazo Member

    Wow,these are super cool :) can you tell me the approximate locations for each one?
     
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  8. Karl

    Karl 2008 Engineer of the Year Frisco.org Supporter

    The motorcar is southbound on the Frisco, and the crossing is with the MP.

    Please check this thread. It has a very nice discussion of Dodson, Smoky Hill and the KC Public Service RR. I posted 7-1/2 minute, annotated topo sheet, an annotated industry schematic, and a KCPS RR locomotive roster here as well. It will give you a good look at Dodson circa 1963-67.
    http://www.frisco.org/shipit/index.php?threads/clinton-sub-retirement-bv-jct-dodson.1441/
     
    Last edited: Jul 24, 2018
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  9. Karl

    Karl 2008 Engineer of the Year Frisco.org Supporter

    I have annotated the photos from the previous post.
     
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  10. Aaron DeShazo

    Aaron DeShazo Member

    Thanks Karl :)
     
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  11. rcmck

    rcmck Member Frisco.org Supporter

    Aaron,

    I became a member back in the late 70's when the majority of Smoky Hill equipment was located in what is now Kansas City's River Market area (then it was called the River Key area, plagued with mob activity and deteriorated buildings. Today it borders with the Power and Light District. It's changed so much for the better. We were located on some industrial stub-end tracks off a siding that came off a modest little yard on the KCS, up on the Missouri River Bluffs.

    The group decided to move out to Richards-Gebauer AFB in Grandview, with more room for their collection of rolling stock, I'm thinking this was in the early to mid-80's. The spur we were located on, at the base, was formerly operated by the Frisco, then the B.N. after the merger. The switch for the spur came off the Frisco Highline just south of 155th St. (as I recall).

    In the late 1988, I moved back to the Kansas City area (after being away for five years) from Dallas with my wife and six-month old son. During this time frame, I became more active and involved, serving on their Board of Directors, and then holding down the post as President for a one-year term. As you probably know, in the early 90's, we descended upon Belton, having made our purchase of the line from the B.N., as you eluded to, then selling off what we didn't operate on to provide capital.

    Lots of history, blood, sweat and tears. I turned my attention to my growing family, with second son born in July of 91. A year, or so after this, I called it "quits" - so I was with Smoky Hill about 20 years.

    Bob McKeighan
    Lenexa, KS
     
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  12. RogerRT

    RogerRT Staff Member Staff Member Frisco.org Supporter

    I've been holding back commenting on this until I was done with a bit a research which should be done by next week, I have very little to add.

    One thing I can say is if you go to YouTube and search Kansas City firefighters killed in explosion you can see the line in 1988 around Flynn & the north side of the Bannister Road grade crossing. Also there was an episode of Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack in 1990(?) featuring the explosion that showed the line.

    Roger
     
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  13. RogerRT

    RogerRT Staff Member Staff Member Frisco.org Supporter

    Bob,

    How much did you pay for the line? When did you receive the deed for the ROW? Did you sell the Grandview-155th St. part to the KCS? If so, when? I'm going thru the Federal Register and as of December 1992, I can find no mention of Smokey Hill or KCS petitioning the ICC to operate any part of the line.

    Roger
     
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  14. Aaron DeShazo

    Aaron DeShazo Member

    Thank you Bob!

    I would love to meet up and chat with you some more about the Highline and Smoky Hill. I live just up the hill from the site of the old Jefferys depot in Hickman Mills, so I’m very interested in finding out more about the old line between Dodson and Red Bridge Road, as it seems much has changed in the past 30 years.
     
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  15. rcmck

    rcmck Member Frisco.org Supporter

    Hi Roger,

    It's been long enough ago that I can't recall what the net obligation was. Not sure on the deed either. I'm not sure of the arrangement with the K.C.S. They might have purchased just their portion from the B.N. As far as the ICC, we were probably exempt, because we didn't haul freight, and we probably fell below requirements as a passenger carrier.

    Bob McKeighan
    Lenexa, KS
     
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  16. RogerRT

    RogerRT Staff Member Staff Member Frisco.org Supporter

    The abandoned roadbed removed in October 2003, when the Grandview Triangle was rebuilt. The Red Bridge grade crossing was located where the commuter parking lot is now located.

    Roger
     
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  17. RogerRT

    RogerRT Staff Member Staff Member Frisco.org Supporter

    As abandonment's go the Dodson-East Lynne line was a complicated affair. The abandonment notice was published in the 9/15/1988 issue of the Federal Register. A letter I have dated 1/17/1989 states that the abandonment was postponed account the KCS wanted to purchase portions of the line. When the KCS formally took over, I don't know, it wasn't published in the Federal Register.

    As for the Smokey Hill RR it's first mention in the Federal Register was on 4/19/1995, says they had been operating it since 1990.

    That's all I know other than the tracks I saw on 12/10/1990 were all washed out between the Blue River bridge & Holmes Road, there was no way it could be operated over.

    Roger
     

    Attached Files:

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  18. tferk

    tferk Member Frisco.org Supporter

    I know BN was still running local 91851 as a KC-Harrisonville turnaround job in October 1988, as on 10/22/88 they failed at a running drop and 6 cars rolled into engine BN 1966, injuring the engineer.

    The last move that I personally saw to East Lynne was in March 1984, while in Harrisonville, one GP and one covered hopper heading east to East Lynne.
     
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  19. RogerRT

    RogerRT Staff Member Staff Member Frisco.org Supporter

    The southbound local usually went thru Belton around 3PM on Thursdays, never did see a northbound. Saw it many times in 1986-1987, I chased it south one day out of Belton on the Outer Road next to 71 Highway doing about 25MPH.

    I worked with some guys that went down there, they said it was called off the Extra Board at Murray. They did all the work on the way south so they could have straight shot back to KC the next day. They stay overnight at the Cortez Hotel in Harrisonville. Not one of them said they ever went to East Lynne, Harrisonville was as far as they went.

    It was called the Coburg job (KCM 192 officially) when I worked it, we went on duty at the 19th St. Yard office at 0730 & went as far as BV Jct. & returned. The Gateway leased it for a while then returned it to BNSF until they sold it to the Kaw.

    Roger
     
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  20. tferk

    tferk Member Frisco.org Supporter

    Roger,

    What years did you work the Coburg Job, and do you remember any details about the traffic or industries?
     

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