Folks, As our HO-Scale version of Olathe, KS nears completion, I'd considered including running some short troop trains as passenger extras, with troops bound for Naval Air Station Olathe, now the New Century AirCenter. However, the more I look at maps of the area, it looks like it probably would have made more sense for the AT&SF to drop off troops either adjacent to the base or in nearby Gardner. Can anyone either confirm that the Frisco would have provided troop service or this base, or make the plausibility case for a Frisco troop train? Best Regards,
I used to work there and the only access is via the ATSF. The Frisco could have delivered a train to the Santa Fe at Kansas City Union Station (KCUS) for delivery to Naval Air Station Olathe (NASO). It's not a real big base from what I can tell. The barracks are long gone but I get the impression a trainload of sailors would double the population.
Depends on era he is building. If I remember correctly, in the blimp hanger the Kansas Highway Patrol used to park cars. It was was a big base in WW2. And being in center of the continental United States it was a busy location for cross country traffic. Trainers used to take off in mass on that grass at the north end of the field. John Glenn took his first military flight there, not that that means anything. Think like Camp Crowder, it had it's day of glory and now it is an industrial park. Either way, if he comes up with a source for War Barracks in HO let me know! Best wishes, Rick
Rick, The operational info is good to know. Should we ever get around to representing KCUS on the other side of the workshop, this might be something to represent. One thought I'd tossed around in my head, rather than representing Kansas City Union Station (KCUS) or a portion of it, I'd go ahead and model old Kansas City Union Depot (KCUD) as being used solely by the SL-SF and AT&SF. Just a thought. Best Regards,
Last time I was there, and sure you there more often, tracks I thought were a spur west of runway and surviving hanger into base POL & Power Plant facility from Gardner? But what goes thru Gardner? What read in WW2 base ended up with 6500 troops. Would hate to see a photo with that many barracks. If Rick worked here imagine he remembers hangers on main entry road coming in from Olathe before torn down. You have work cut out for you. Ricky
