Nostalgia & History > Why was this ATSF E6 here?

While scanning some of my slide collection I came across this slide of AT&SF 13. The slide is marked 07-16-1959 in Topeka, KS. by Merion E. Perrin in his hand writing. The train is an EB at the station. The question is why is it discharging and loading passengers at the Union Pacific station in Topeka? I can only surmise that there was a flood in Kansas City or somewhere in between. Thanks for your help in advance.
Thanks for looking,
Wes

Wes Chiles
Topeka, KS

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Thanks for posting this great photo!

B&OB

Not sure why it was there on my 9th birthday, but the AT&SF 13 was on the UP before, on July 5th of 1951. It was running west out of KC as an extra. That being a flood detour.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/19/17 13:00 by LocoPilot750.

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Always enjoy seeing ATSF's early diesels! (And enjoyed riding behind them on the Golden Gate at speeds up to 100 between Bakersfield and Hanford!)

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

Weather records show there were some storms the previous 2 days.
They must have come up on the Rock Island GS route.  I wonder
if they were going to back across the river and get back on the Santa Fe tracks to Kansas City?

That was my thought as well, but I'd guess that the issue was further west than Topeka.  Had it been east of Topeka, they surely would've just gone via Ottawa or continued up the Atchison Main to the UP in North Topeka.

In this photo of mine from 2014, the SW Chief was detouring over the GSR due to a derailment on the BNSF just east of Hutchinson.

- Jeff Carlson

mp51w Wrote:
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> Weather records show there were some storms the
> previous 2 days.
> They must have come up on the Rock Island GS
> route.  I wonder
> if they were going to back across the river and
> get back on the Santa Fe tracks to Kansas City?

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Well, to start with, this is ATSF #12. Running as UnPac XATSF 13 east. Probably it came off the ATSF at Peabody and ran on the CRI&P up to Topeka, Ks. Having done its station work on the UP, it will run on the UP to Kansas City, Mo. (If it were going to run the train on the ATSF, the station work would be done at the ATSF depot after backing over the Kansas River.) wag216