Nostalgia & History > MKT depot stands 37 miles from original site

History buffs in Linn County, Kansas, south of Kansas City, have made sure an old Missouri-Kansas-Texas passenger/freight depot has not disappeared from the Kansas landscape.

A former MKT depot that was built in the tiny hamlet of Goodrich, KS, in 1889 now stands on the grounds of the Linn County Historical Society Museum in Pleasanton, KS, some 37 miles from Goodrich.

Despite growing up near Goodrich in the late 1940s and 1950s, I never did know the Goodrich depot even existed until early April of 1995 after a major Union Pacific Railroad train derailment occurred at the north edge of Goodrich. A total of 52 loaded coal cars were dumped on the ground on March 30, 1995, because of a fire on a wooden trestle, just a few blocks north of the main part of town --- if there is a "main part."

When I went to the derailment site on April 2, 1995, to check on the progress of the wreck cleanup and the hurriedly rebuilt bridge, I spotted the old depot on private property several hundred yards from where the train mishap occurred. The building apparently had been used as a storage building on a small farm for many years. I'm told the last agent's job had been abolished at the depot prior to 1901.

A long story short: In 1995, Historical Society members also picked up on the fact that the depot building still existed but was in deplorable shape. It took another 10 years, but the building was finally donated to the LCHS by the owner's family in 2005. The wood-frame structure was hauled to Pleasanton and restored to allow storage of railroad artifacts and make it accessible to the public.

Attached are three pictures I took of the old depot in 1995, and then two pictures I took in Pleasanton this past Tuesday. What a difference or contrast in appearances! Only bad thing is that modern-day roofing material was used when it came to a new roof job. Conventional shingles were not installed and the historic depot has somewhat an odd look in 2009. But we shouldn't be too critical. A lot of hard work and money went into having the depot restored and saved for future generations.

Goodrich is about 70 miles southwest of Kansas City on the old Katy line that extended to Parsons and other points south. All of the KC-Parsons passenger trains whistled through Goodrich until they were abolished. The Katy never did serve Pleasanton. Pleasanton was served by the Frisco and Missouri Pacific, but the MoPac left Pleasanton in the 1930s. The BN and BNSF have subsequently served Pleasanton since Frisco days. Pleasanton is on the BNSF's Fort Scott Sub.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/15/09 17:52 by thtinc41ed.

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Two pictures of the restored depot as it appeared on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009...

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thtinc41ed Wrote:

> Only bad thing is that
> modern-day roofing material was used when it came
> to a new roof job. Conventional shingles were not
> installed and the historic depot has somewhat an
> odd look in 2009. But we shouldn't be too
> critical. A lot of hard work and money went into
> having the depot restored and saved for future
> generations.

I've come across more than a few Santa Fe depots that have gone to museums and subsequently received new low maintenance roofs, siding, or both. One that hasn't (yet) is the 1923-vintage wood frame Johnson, KS depot at the Stanton County Museum in Johnson. Talking with one of the docents, he volunteered that, "That old wood don't take paint too good. We just repainted it again last year - hope it lasts a while this time." In the face of both limited funds and volunteer labor, I can certainly understand why a museum might opt for the less historically accurate but more sustainable low-maintenance option.