Marion and McPherson Railroad

The Marion and McPherson Railroad was a short-line railroad in central Kansas.

History

As early as 1875, city leaders of Marion held a meeting to consider a branch railroad from Florence to Marion. In 1878, the Marion and McPherson Railway Company was chartered.[1]

In 1879, a rail line was built from Florence to McPherson.[2] In 1880, it was extended to Lyons, in 1881 it was extended to Ellinwood.[3] In 1901, the line was leased and operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, which used the name "Florence & Ellinwood Division" for it.[4]

The line from Florence to Marion was abandoned in 1969.[5][6][7] In 1992, the line from Marion to McPherson was sold to Central Kansas Railway. In 1993, after heavy flood damage, the line from Marion to McPherson was abandoned. In 2001, the railway from Lyons to 3 miles (5 kilometers) west of Conway was abandoned.[8] In 2001, Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad (K&O) took over operations of Central Kansas Railway.[9][10]

Currently, the remaining parts of the former Marion and McPherson Railroad that still exists is:[11][12]

  • Ellinwood to Lyons,
  • 3 mi (5 km) west of Conway to 3 mi (5 km) east of McPherson.

Stations

At a high-level, the railroad connected the primary cities of Ellinwood (west end), Lyons, McPherson, Marion, Florence (east end).

See also

References
  1. Marion County Kansas : Past and Present; Sondra Van Meter; MB Publishing House; LCCN 72-92041; 344 pages; 1972.
  2. Railroad history for Lyons, Kansas; Frisco blog; December 2007.
  3. Fourth Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners for the Year Ending December 1, 1886 in State of Kansas; Kansas Publishing House; 1886.
  4. Florence & Ellinwood Division in Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History; Standard Publishing Co; 805 pages; 1912.
  5. Railway Abandonment 1968
  6. Would Abandon Short Rail Line, page 1; Peabody Gazette-Herald; 10 pages; November 21, 1968.
  7. Santa Fe to Abandon Line?, page 10; Peabody Gazette-Herald; 13 pages; December 25, 1969.
  8. Central Kansas Railroad plans to stop service in 5 counties; The Associated Press; November 22, 2000.
  9. Kansas-Oklahoma railroad rich in orders; Knight Ridder Newspapers; July 5, 2001.
  10. Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad KO #380; Union Pacific.
  11. Kansas Railroad Map; KDOT.
  12. Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad Map Archived 2009-05-06 at the Wayback Machine

Further reading
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