Nostalgia & History > some Topeka memories from '80

Back in August '80 while attending locomotive training classes for Santa Fe, I was fortunate enough to become friends with a fellow trainee from Kansas that brought his car, so on weekends and such we went out and saw the trains of Topeka. Here, first off, is a UP westbound with runthrough NW power just east of Topeka. Second, the MP Topeka Local was just departing town southbound with the state capital dome in the distance. Third, an eastbound SP/SSW train on the ex Rock Island "Cotton Rock" line led by a trio of new SSW GP40-2's was approaching Topeka yard with the Kansas river in the background.
JB

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forth, a trio of B23's led the Santa Fe's Emporia to Topeka local leaving Topeka headed back to Emporia making the long six week class not quite as painful as it could have been. finally, during my stay this Californian experienced the most awesome thunder/lightning storm of my life with this shot taken from my window at the Ramada Inn which shows one of the many strikes of this storm.
JB

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That is a very nice series of photos. I especially enjoyed the UP u-boat and the SSW as it was meant to be!

Sam Reeves
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http://www.samreevesphoto.com

Whereabouts was the MP shot taken? Where were they headed?

I don't mean to be a nit-picking, rivet counting SOB, but those Santa Fe units are actually U23B's. Thanks for posting these shots, as I really like Kansas shots from the 70's and 80's.

3rdswitch Wrote:
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> forth, a trio of B23's led the Santa Fe's Emporia
> to Topeka local leaving Topeka headed back to
> Emporia making the long six week class not quite
> as painful as it could have been. finally, during
> my stay this Californian experienced the most
> awesome thunder/lightning storm of my life with
> this shot taken from my window at the Ramada Inn
> which shows one of the many strikes of this
> storm.
> JB

I don't know the railroad aspects of your question as much as the geography. They were in the south part of Topeka, possibly crossing 21st Street - the capitol is on 10th Street (about a mile north of the location in the picture). They were probably heading to some grain elevators at Overbrook, Michigan Valley, Pomona.

At a point about 2 miles north of Quenemo the tracks from Topeka joined an east west line that ran between Osage City and beyond to the west and Ottawa and who knows where to the east.

Find this junction on a map of your choice by searching for Quenemo, KS - apx 2 miles north to the junction or Pomona, KS - apx 3 miles west to the junction.

cdub Wrote:
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> I don't mean to be a nit-picking, rivet counting
> SOB...

Is that a NPRCSOB??? ;-) Gotta love them acronyms...

The MoPac Topeka local did not originate in Topeka but in Osawatomie, Ks. In the 1970's, this local train departed Osawatomie and ran 5 days per week. The train would be made up in the Osawatomie yard and traveled west on the same MoPac tracks that went to Pueblo, Colo. until they got to Lomax. My memory is a little fuzzy but I seem to remember Lomax was between Pomona and Osage City. The MoPac Topeka Sub was from Lomax up through Michigan Valley, Pearl, to the MoPac Depot that was on the East side of the main business area. There was several industrial customers in the Topeka area and transfers to/from Santa Fe. I worked on the section gang one hot summer on the Topeka Sub and I also worked one summer as a brakeman out of Osawatomie in my college days in the early 1970 era so I have some working knowledge of this operation. The local did not tie-up in Topeka. They made up their train after their work was done and headed back to Osawatomie. The thing I remember most about working on this local was the there was a restriction of speed on the Topeka Sub (Lomax to Topeka) because the track was not in the best shape. Hope this answers your MoPac questions some.....

Rick

Hey ho, I was at ATSF simulator school at Topeka in Feb. '80, stayed in room 666 at that Ramada Inn, ha (thought I was doomed). But all the readin' and writin' confirmed for the first time in my life I had to have glasses, sheeesh. Rick has the MoPac operations correct; think you mean "Paola" Rick instead of Pomona. Thing I recall about MP's Topeka depot (we had to walk right by it every day from the Ramada to the simular school at ATSF's station) was that huge red MoPac buzzsaw herald on the end of their depot. What I'd give to have one of those signs today.

Paola is north of Osawatomie 7 miles.....No I did mean Paola. Pomana is west of Ottawa. That is the right direction. I was out there not long ago. I'm reasonably sure.....it isn't Paola. I lived in that area about 27 years.....

Rick