Western Railroad Discussion > Those dang stoplights!

For a couple of years now I’ve followed the same 1st-Thursday-of-every-month routine. I hit Kansas City some time after lunch to do some misc railfanning. I usually end up paying a visit at Doc’s Caboose hobby shop in the upper West Bottoms. Then I follow the same path toward North Kansas City: Hickory St to Forrester Rd to Beardsley Rd and hang a left. Make the bend onto 4th St, jog left on the upper finger of Broadway Blvd to 3rd St. Hang a right, go a couple of blocks and hope to hit a red stoplight at Delaware while first out in line. Then I have to have the incredible good timing to get a KCSA streetcar coming up 3rd to make its sharp bend onto Delaware… right out my front windshield. After about 2 years of near & total misses I finally hit the jackpot! (see below)

1. thru 4. KCSA 801 makes the sharp turn at 3rd & Delaware Sts in the City Market area of downtown Kansas City, MO. It’s 4:52 PM. It approximately 15 minutes I’ll be sitting in our special room at Paul & Jack’s Tavern (bar and grill) in North KC. I’ll be in attendance at the latest monthly Roundtable Dinner & Presentation railfan gathering. I always look over their menu, but it seems I always order the Thursday special: Chicken Fried Steak, w/ mashed potatoes & white gravy + corn. Sometimes coffee, but most times it’s iced tea for the beverage. (Old RR culinary habits die hard… ;^)
Photo date: February 14, 2019.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/15/19 11:13 by santafe199.

---

---

Maybe next time I’ll even get some sunshine, if I live long enough… ;^)

Thanks for the red light!
Lance Garrels
santafe199

---

---

Now that’s a grab shot of all grab shots.

BB

Great luck and photos, Lance.  The streetcar makes a nice addition to the KC rail scene.

Rich

I know some folks will disagree, but I think that is a pretty slick looking streetcar.  Nice smooth lines, very clean.

Z

At least it had the proper destination in the indicator board. Nice photos Lance.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

WWOOWW
HOW do they pass this mess can someone show more?

snoopy51 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> WWOOWW
> HOW do they pass this mess can someone show more?

Like most streetcars, it is a loop. In KC the loop is just over two miles long ... single direction. The photos above were taken at the north end of the system where trains turn south after "going around the block" to turn around. A couple of blocks south the line has one track on each side of the street. Most of the route has the streetcar in the traffic lane of the street, following and being followed by road vehicles. Single tracking doesn't work with shared lanes. There is a short section of non-passenger single track leading to the streetcar garage (tracks in a lane regular vehicles cannot use). At the south end there is a single track where trains stop outside Union Station. The tracks are in the southbound curb lane. When a train departs northbound it crosses over the traffic lanes to the northbound curb lane. A traffic light has been installed to allow for this reverse move.