Western Railroad Discussion > Dodge City Ford and Bucklin RR

Recently I was in Guthrey, OK, and while driving around I came on three cars from the Dodge City Ford and Buckin RR. Baggage #139, Dining Car #138, and Lounge # 137. These cars are in really bad shape on the south side and pretty good shape on the north side. Question: Does anyone know anything about this RR. Was it a dinner train? Where did it run and when? What are the cars doing sitting there at this time and who do they belong to? By the way there is a re-certification sign saying 2009. Just interested.

Ran from Dodge City to Bucklin (SP?) Kansas. I don't know if the dinner train went the whole distance. RR connected the ATSF at DC to the RI at Bucklin. They had the usual eclectic mix of pwoer including a very nicely painted ALCo S-2 (or was it an S-1?). There was a critter or two and a number of assorted passenger cars including former IC, nee MP planetarium dome, last seen in Ford, KS.


Rob

Last I knew, some folks in Guthrie were still holding out hope for the establishment of an excursion line there. That was before the economy went South.

Dodge City Ford and Bucklin was a former Rock Island branch from Bucklin to Dodge City. The DCF&B operated tourist trains from Dodge City to point a few miles east of Dodge City. The part of the line from Ford to Bucklin has not seen a train in many years. The DCF&B went out of business several years ago. A GE 44 ton? locomotive is now is service at the Oklahoma Railway Museum in Oklahoma City.

Thanks for the information. These three cars would have to be rebuilt as they are really bad condition. Thanks for the information.

the psgr cars stored in Guthrie were in nice shape when they arrived
Unfortunately the local folks didn't know how such things attract
vandalism, even in a small town.

And the Dome went to New York.

The track from Ford to Bucklin has been gone for a few years now. ROW still there. Trucks move grain from Ford now.

and don't forget Wilroads Gardens which was on that line.... :)

I asked my buddy Harold Reardon for any other DCF&B information. Harold did some work for the DCF&B many years ago. Here's his reply.

Tony,

That tourist line at Guthrie never even got started, shame. I think they didn't understand what it involved running a railroad and apparently the lack of a bridge over the river got by them too. Seems to an important part of operating. Those three cars were on the Ozark Mountain website for a long time, up for sale but I noticed the other day none are showing. Don't know what happened, maybe the owners gave up for a while or decided to scrap them.
The little 45 ton GE and the combine are both at the OKC museum and they always refer to the car as the 'blue car' as if they have no idea where it came from. Very odd. The Alco S1 was still setting at the Wilroads elevator last summer, trapped there by about 425 stored rail cars. The owner swapped the trucks out for some roller bearing equipped ones that may have come from an EMD switcher - just guessing on that. I don't know who owns it now days however.
Lots of work on our part for nothing but how were we to know. I wrote a letter last week to the Ranneys who owned the DCF&B to see if they will answer. I have never heard from them since they closed down. Richard is 81 now, not sure about Peg. Will see if a reply ever shows up.

Harold

TonyJ Wrote:
-----------
> That tourist line at Guthrie never
> even got started, shame. I think they didn't
> understand what it involved running a railroad and
> apparently the lack of a bridge over the river got
> by them too. Seems to an important part of operating.

To be fair, the group attempting to get the Guthrie excursion going was aware of both operating and physical challenges facing them. The biggest obstacle was ODoT's refusal to free up $$$ from the state rail fund to fix the bridges, as well as their obfuscation on transfering the line ownership to the operating organization. Finally, a local political scandal involving the project's backers (altohugh not the project itself) resulted in the effort's hiatus..

chester Wrote:
--------------------
> The track from Ford to Bucklin has been gone for a
> few years now. ROW still there. Trucks move grain
> from Ford now.

Extant right-of-way belongs to the grain COOP at Guthrie. Said COOP owns the elevator at Wilroads, hence the 'raison d'tre' for the remining track. Interesting the Alco S-1 is on roller trucks, as I had heard it was on a flat car with its original friction ones [it's an ex-Air force unit, BTW]. It's supposedly still the property of the erstwhile Guthrie organization..