Nostalgia & History > Toto Tuesday: SFe passenger action at Peabody!

My long time friend & honorary “Dean” of the Kansas railfan community, Art Gibson is my guest photographer for todays’ Toto. All together there are 4 photographers represented in this complicated, 7 decade-spanning look at Peabody, Kansas. Before we’re through, we’ll have looked in all 4 directions+ at this incredibly interesting small Kansas town, that happens to host my all-time beloved favorite railroad, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and my beloved close second favorite railroad, the Mighty Fine Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific.

Well… enough of the emotional intro. Let’s get to the captions>>v

1. In this view looking SW the Peabody interlocking tower is in the SE quadrant of the AT&SF/CRI&P crossing on September 21, 1953.
Photo by A E Brown, from the Gordon Bassett collection via Art Gibson

2. Fast-forward 66 years: In this view looking west the future Wedel Acres “railfan depot” is under construction in the same SE quadrant of the (now) BNSF/UP crossing on July 22, 2019.

3. A quick look downtown shows us the AT&SF Peabody depot at the S Walnut (main) St crossing in January of 1964.
Photo by Art Gibson



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/23 02:05 by santafe199.

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4. 5. & 6. AT&SF 37C leads train #7, the “Fast Mail” over the Rock Island crossing. Note the customary/solitary passenger coach carrying the marker. A few minutes behind that comes…

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7. 8. & 9. …AT&SF 44C leading (unnamed) mail train #3 over the same path, with a quick glance up the Rock Island main line in image #8. Note the same solo coach on the rear.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/23 02:08 by santafe199.

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10. In the background of that image #8 is this CRI&P Peabody depot sitting south of W 2nd St. Note the prominent south siding switch and the Santa Fe connection track entering at the far left in image #8, which is looking north while image #10 is looking SSE.
Photos 4-10 taken in February of 1964 by Art Gibson

11. On October 8, 1982 my friend, the late Tony Fey took this scene shot looking south from that same switch, now rusty and overgrown with weeds. And the crossing has been removed.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/23 02:10 by santafe199.

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12. Looking SE here is “Wedel Acres”, a great spot built by TO member “trainman” for visiting railfan photographers. It sits in the same quadrant as the old Peabody Tower in Image #1, just a bit further away from the crossing.

13. Wedel Acres in now distantly east of the viewer standing near BNSF’s east siding switch at Peabody. In the semi-distant foreground is the BNSF/UP crossing.
(Photos 1, 12 & 13 previously posted. Photos 12 & 13 taken March 20, 2020… ALL photos taken in Peabody, KS)

Thanks for looking back & forth!
Lance Garrels (santafe199)
Art Gibson (wag216) With help from A E Brown & Tony Fey



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/23 02:11 by santafe199.

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First rate thread, image quality, and sequence of photos at Peabody, Lance!  I feel like I've just glanced a nice photo spread in an expensive book I probably should buy instead of just read at the RR book store :o)

Thanks - and to all the photographers involved.

Rich

An "A+" set of photos.Wow!!!
Bob

Nice shots and story.... Are the ok Rock Island tracks gone now?

bluesboyst Wrote: > ...  Are the ok Rock Island tracks gone now ...

Kinda-sorta! Gone right into the suction-cup, merger arms of that big yellow & gray octopus called Union Pacific. Via the MKT, of course. As I recall, right after the 1980 death of the ROCK. the OKKT (MKT subsidiary) started operating the TX ~ OK mainline south out of Herington, KS, while the Cotton Belt got the entire GSR. I could be wrong, but I seem to remember some time in the early 80s there was an interuption in OKKT operation. And the Peabody crossing was removed, probably at the behest of the SFe M.O.W. boys. But it was re-installed later on, and today that line is a big part of the UP's entry into central Oklahoma & Texas...

Lance/199



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/30/20 13:32 by santafe199.

You really surpassed yourself on this one ! The look back at what once was, is amazing.

Posted from Android

Lance a wonderful topic.  you are correct there was directed service after the rock closed and then MKT took it over as it's OKKT which remained until the UP merger.  I have not seen images from before my time in Kansas which started in the early 80's those are a treat.  I never saw the double track on the ATSF or the different depots and tower.  Thanks to you for sharing these wonderful photo's.  I am glad that people like Art (and others)are allowing these to be published here. 

Mark
 

Nice photos, all!

Thanks for posting, Lance.

Randy Lundgren

Nice shots!! Old Santa Fe Railway Kansas City based passenger train crews worked to and from Wellington, KS on the old Mail train #3. Emporia, KS  based engine crews worked to and from Wellington, KS. on the Mail train#3. Now Amtrak trains 3 and 4 the Southwest Chief pass each other  just southwest of Peabody ay approx. 2:20am MDT every mornings. Both the depots in Peabody are long gone now.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/01/20 05:51 by RodneyZona.

Great action photos in the land of Oz. Thanks for posting for friends and relatives photos. What is the destination of mail train 3?

That passenger car on the first train was a classic SF combine made especially for those trains.
The second one was a classic ATSF heavyweight coach.
Nice pix!!

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

I wonder if Art or anyone got pictures when they lifted the second main. I know this has been asked before but , when was it single tracked ?

Posted from Android

Toto Tuesday is totally too good today .  --Kelly

trainman Wrote: > ... when was it single tracked ...

I have a gap in my Middle Division ETT collection between 1966 (Double track-ABS) & '77 (Single main track TCS w/ sidings), so I can't nail it down precisely. But I believe it was an ongoing project during the summer of 1972. If either Tony Fey or John Arbuckle were still with us either one could give us the exact date without flinching...

Lance

 

Great photos. thanks for posting. I never knew there was a tower at the ATSF/CRIP crossing. #s7/8 always ran with the combine and 3/4 always with the heavyweight coach. Never knew why. Also, I believe back in the late 60s the RI depot in Peabody took a hit from a dreailment there. 

Good photo coverage of the area.  Liked the mail trains.
sd-45