Nostalgia & History > Toto Tuesday : KO&G at Topeka

While perusing Topeka with longtime Pal, Sir Lance (santafe199) last Friday, we were doing "Drive Bys" in the older sections
of Topeka. On one of these perusings we drove down a street and Lance pointed out the old Mopac right of way and the once
location of the Mopac depot. It looked familiar to me; especially the viaduct we just went under.
Yes, I had been there before.
My visit to this location was in the form of a photograph taken by one of the "Founding Fathers" of our Kansas Gang.

Here is KO&G 97, then owned by the Mopac, traversing the abandoned line we drove by last Friday. The Mopac depot is in the
distance.

Although the cars are a little different than the Nissan Sentra we were riding in, Who says you can't go home again.

KO&G 97 at Topeka, KS.
February 7, 1964
Photograph by W.A.Gibson Sr.

Thanks for looking.

Bob Helling
PRose

---

The only thing about that spot that is unchanged is the Topeka Capital-Journal building in the background still stands. Everything else is different, including a new bridge I believe. Great picture, Bob!

Nice photo Bob. I noticed the time of your posting which tells me you got an early call. I remember those days when the phone would ring in the dark and on the other end you would hear, "Krieger.....SLNP for 02:30". Ah yes the good ole days.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

Switched the Cap Journal many times when on the Topeka Local. One of those jobs that I really didn't like to work since it was a given you would be on the ground at some point in the trip

After hiring out on the Mop at Coffeyville, KS, I was force assigned to the Ark City Local at Arkansas City, KS. I wasn't there very long until we were given one of the ex-KO&G engines and shortly after that a KO&G caboose. The engine was in much better shape than the Mop engines, and the only thing I didn't like about them was with the dual controls, the brakeman's seat was cutout into the bulkhead wall--I couldn't see out as the Fireman had to have a seat. BTW, we never, ever called the Missouri Pacific Railroad the Mopac--it was the Mop.

mopacrr Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Switched the Cap Journal many times when on the
> Topeka Local. One of those jobs that I really
> didn't like to work since it was a given you would
> be on the ground at some point in the trip


Back in the late 90's, I became disenchanted with life in the KC-Wellington freight pool, so I excercised my seniority, and bumped onto the Topeka Engr's X-Bd. Mostly all we did was push Red Rock coal trains to Emporia, but once in a while they would call me for an extra engine on Saturday. We delivered & picked up on the UP, switched the yard a little, and once, we took a car of paper to the Capitol-Journal. We took it west of 10th street, lined ourselves down that brick street to the set out track which was right behind the old MOP depot location. We had to stop several times and find owners of vehicles who had parked along the track, and have them move their cars. The street was rough & full of holes, and the track hadn't been worked on for decades. The front steps on the engine drug on the bricks in several places, because the rail sunk down so low. It had rained sometime before, and the track was covered up with old dried mud in a few places, but the loaded car ahead cut through it OK. Quite an adventure, and the only time I ever went up there. I think that track is all gone now. They switch CJ by truck now. Same at Lawrence, I came across Mass. St. the other day, and noticed the crossing & track going to the Journal-World has been removed and paved over, I switched that one several times on the Lawrence Rd Swr.

Topeka was served for many, many years by a Mon.-Saturday local out of Osawatomie, which ran up the branch line from Lomax. Crews were based at Osawatomie.

I'm told that a switch engine was also actually based in Topeka by the MoPac in the 1970s. Unsure if crews for the switcher actually traveled to and from their home community or lived in Topeka. Or did they have to drive back and forth between Osawatomie and Topeka before and after their switch engine shift? How many years did the switch engine job last?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/12/13 09:43 by thtinc41ed.

Swthtinc41ed Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Topeka was served for many, many years by a
> Mon.-Saturday local out of Osawatomie, which ran
> up the branch line from Lomax. Crews were based at
> Osawatomie.
>
> I'm told that a switch engine was also actually
> based in Topeka by the MoPac in the 1970s. Unsure
> if crews for the switcher actually traveled to and
> from their home community or lived in Topeka. Or
> did they have to drive back and forth between
> Osawatomie and Topeka before and after their
> switch engine shift? How many years did the switch
> engine job last?


Switch crew was based in Topeka and was known as a outside job. I worked it a number of times off the extra board, but oddly enough it went high in seniority. Some guys drove back and forth ,but I am think one or two may have lived there. The job was pulled off in the mid 70's and the Topeka Local did all the switching.

Can anybody provide a street address of Bob's rare WAG image above?

TIA

Bob

ATSF100WEST......Out

KO&G high on the list of "least frequently photgraphed railroads".

Tom Y

ATSF100WEST Wrote:

> Can anybody provide a street address of Bob's rare
> WAG image above?

http://goo.gl/maps/dQx0y

Evan_Werkema Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ATSF100WEST Wrote:
>
> > Can anybody provide a street address of Bob's
> rare
> > WAG image above

Looks like just south of 6th & Adams. Photo is looking north towards the depot building. (hope I finally got it right)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/12/13 14:30 by ddg.

Dennis, you are correct. The street the picture is looking down is Adams. The overpass is 6th. The photographer is probably standing close to 7th street looking north. I remember when Topeka Railroad Days was downtown, I was operating the motorcars on display on this trackage.

I also remember a story once from a former Mop engineer that one day they had a load of paper for the Cap-Journal that had to be turned to be spotted correctly. Instead of taking the car all the way down to the Mop wye south of 45th Street by Forbes Field, they decided to use the Santa Fe wye a few blocks south. They did it silently and quickly, throwing signals up in front of an approaching train. The train slowed per rules, but by the time they got to town, the Mop job was back on their own tracks with no one the wiser.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/12/13 20:24 by imrl.

imrl Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I also remember a story once from a former Mop
> engineer that one day they had a load of paper for
> the Cap-Journal that had to be turned to be
> spotted correctly. Instead of taking the car all
> the way down to the Mop wye south of 45th Street
> by Forbes Field, they decided to use the Santa Fe
> wye a few blocks south. They did it silently and
> quickly, throwing signals up in front of an
> approaching train. The train slowed per rules, but
> by the time they got to town, the Mop job was back
> on their own tracks with no one the wiser.

That's funny! That sounds like some sort of model railroad business. "Ehh, no one'll mind if I block this diamond for a bit... it'll make the switching easier."

- Jeff

Man, FANTASTIC shot here. Thanks a lot for posting it!

- Jeff Carlson

Is that a MP stockcar behind the engine ?