Western Railroad Discussion > railfanning in Mo

Hi all,
I just moved to Lee's Summit, MO from boring Southern California. Were are good places to railfan here??? I can hear distant trains in the evening here, very cool. To help for those who are familiar with the area, we now live off of the 7 highway.
Audra Goyette

Audra:

Boring Southern California? I move out of there 2 years ago
and I wanna comeback already.... good luck at your new place. =)

Ac4400cwgevo

KC has some of the best variety of railroads in the country, not quite what Chicago has, but still good. The trains you hear are likely the UP line that runs west and south of Lee's Summit. If you go south on 7 to Pleasant Hill there's a junction there where a line runs to Sedalia and the other south to Nevada, Mo (pronounced NaVAYda).

It's a not exactly in your immediate area, but about an hours drive for you will put you at the BNSF/NS triple track main between Camden and Carrollton, where you can see power from anywhere and plenty of trains. There used to be an operating wigwag signal along there, but it was renoved from service a few years back. It's a rural area and about as safe and friendly as anywhere you'll find. That's my favorite area around KC, but there's so much to choose from there I'll just leave it at that and let all the others fill in their spots. To get there (railfanning UP on the way), just go up 7 to 24, then take 224 to Lexington and cross the Missouri on 13. About 4 miles north and you'll cross the transcon at Henrietta and be able to fins a good spot there or either direction. Quicker would be take I-70 to Route O (just east of Odessa) then north to Lexington.

Trainlady,

I echo what Kushtaka says he knows Missouri like nobody I know, course his job takes him everywhere!

Regards
Q-GP30

Not that I'm around my home state that much any more. I haven't gotten to spend much time around KC for quite a while. This morning I'll be finishing at the car shop in Bismark ND, then up to Minot. After that I head to the Havre diesel shop for a several days, then Sheridan, then the UP continuous rail facility at Laramie. I will be hitting Sugar Creek after St Joe late in the month, but that's all non-railroad.

Wow Kushtaka,
You are certainly busy! Thanks for all of the great help. I am going to save the post with directions.
Audra

I'm somewhat familiar with your immediate surroundings. Lee's Summit isn't a bad place to catch a few trains. The station in downtown offers a nice spot to hang out and isn't bad for photos either. Amtrak has a handful of trains that make stops in town and Union Pacific offers a handful of freights. Most of the UP trains you'll see in town are westbound trains. Eastbound trains use the River Sub (if its still called that) on account of the harsh eastbound grade into Lee's Summit. Typically the only eastbounds you'll see are trains bound for the Missouri and Northern Arkansas at Pleasant Hill. They are either coal trains to MNA or the MNA's own road freight and they will use helpers on the coal trains. You also have a siding in town that see's frequent use for meets.

If I recall, UP dispatches a local to work industries in and around town. I've seen it in the morning, but that was a few years ago.

Enjoy,
Adams Sub

It's been nearly fifteen years since I last visited the KC area but the UP east of Lee's Summit is a fascinating route to explore (look up Fred Frailey's two-part article on the River Wars in Trains, summer of 1988 or 1989). A college buddy used to live in Harrisonville, MO and he introduced me to the UP's Sedalia Sub between Jefferson City and KC. US Hwy 50 follows the tracks closely between Centertown and Warrensburg and MO Hwy 58 will get you access between Holden and Pleasant Hill. As others have noted this is primarily westbound traffic except for Amtrak. However, occasionally eastbounds have to detour from the River Sub for one reason or another.

You're also within easy reach of the KCS (Kansas City Southern) mainline heading south out of Kansas City. Less than ten miles west of you, KCS runs along Blue Ridge Blvd where it crosses I-470 and US-71, then heads into Grandview and runs more or less parallel to 71 (between it and the KS-MO state line), past Richards-Gebaur airport (former Air Force base), and on south, criss-crossing the MO-KS border a couple times on its way into SW MO and NW Arkansas. I can't tell you exactly where *the* best places are to see KCS action in your area (I grew up a couple hours south where KCS runs through Kansas for a bit), but I'm sure there must be some interesting stuff to see there in KC judging by what comes through south of there. It's not the transcon, but it's interesting in its own way. Enjoy!