Activity On Old Frisco Highline - KCS (IC&E Engines) - Grandview To Belton, MO - 6/28/2012

I think I saw a ghost!

Last night around 10 pm local time I was doing a little rail fanning at the KCS crossing on Main Street in Grandview, MO. This I've done many times before while living not too far from the location for the past 11 years. After about an hour I prepared to call it the night when I looked over my shoulder towards my car and couldn't believe my eyes. The old overhead signals at the SLSF crossing in Grandview were flashing. I've never seen those crossing signals light up in my life and I've only seen one instance of parked KCS power on the old line.

Out of nowhere a pair of IC&E locos slowly crossed Main St. I followed them all the way to Missouri Highway 150 to the south and got to snap a couple of pictures and a video or two. I've heard rumors of very rare operations for a small facility located close to Highway 71 and Missouri Highway 150 just outside of Belton, MO.

Anyway, it was quite the treat for me to see a small section of the old Highline still being used. Follow the link for some pics and video. The videos are marked with a triangle in the thumbnail. The photos are also have goetag information. Sorry for the quality but I was scrambling. Clink on photo details and scroll down a bit for a map/location view.

https://plus.google.com/photos/1124...s/5759175405007795537?authkey=CNLFzfa93dT_sgE

 

Very interesting, thanks for sharing.

 

So the KCS still operates a switch with the High Line somewhere as is not right there between station locations was it? When lived about Grandview the tracks still existed between two stations as history had not provided KCS access of Kansas City till bridges were put in in 1928 or abouts. So been told KCS went on into KC on High Line. Same switch was used for Frisco to get on KCS when Blue River flooded thu Dodson area. My Grandparents came to Grandview wih KCS from Mena, Arkansas. Used to have some rather old houses between tracks behind where Jackson County Advocate was located where these tracks could still be seen. Be glad you had a camera! I've seen Frisco on those tracks that proved to related to alcohol I suspect.

Ricky

 

When BN was given permission to abandon the Highline between Dodson and East Lynne, KCS was ordered to provide service to the remaining customers in Grandview. UP (former MP) was ordered to do the same in Harrisonville. I'm not sure what customers existed in Grandview at that time, but the main customer, now, is Frontier Bag. This business is located just north of M150 highway. The sole commodity handled by rail at this time is plastic pellets. A siding south of 150 (Belvidere ?) is used to store excess cars and also allows the crew to runaround their inbound cars. The switch into the plant used to be on the south end, but was moved to the north when 150 was widened a few years ago.

The KCS job that serves this territory originates at Knoche Yard which is a joint facility with Canadian Pacific. ICE is now part of CP wich explains the use of their locomotives.

 

Here's a link to the map view of with the KCS on the left and the old Highline on the right. I've only seen a KCS loco once on the Highline in 10 years and it set there for a few weeks. It was setting north of Goode Ave. The other thing that was odd to me is it was two IC&E locos that I saw the other night. I believe the IC&E uses the KCS yard in Kansas City from their line to the north but Belton is quite a distance to travel south just for a couple of hoppers.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Gran...w&t=h&hnear=Grandview,+Jackson,+Missouri&z=18

 

In the 1990s, the KCS used to go to Grandview once a week, on Thursday mornings. It may have changed since then, but I'm sure the frequency is still at least that much, if not more. Knoche Yard is a joint facility of the KCS and CP which results in a mix and match of power from both railroads. This was a KCS job that just happened to draw the ICE units that were in the "pool" on that day.

 

That one looked like the Main St. crossing looking east to Grandview Rd. and another picture looked like 135th St. crossing looking west to the elbow at Botts Rd. The 150 highway crossing has lights similar to highway lights that stay green whenever a train is not present, then switches to yellow, then red when a train approaches. I grew up in Grandview, graduating in 1985 from Grandview Senior High School. The last time I was in town was July of 2010.