Nostalgia & History > R&S Warbonnet on the prairie for a location

My instinct is to locate this train somewhere in western Kansas, especially with that huge elevator in image #2's background. But... this slide had lettering on it reading: “train #18 coming up the panhandle”. Does 'coming up the panhandle' mean this was a detour move* for the Super? Hmmm.............

1. & 2. AT&SF 30 L leads train #17*, the "Super Chief" detouring near S Hutchinson, KS* in June of 1965.
Two copy slides by Lloyd Stagner, my collection.

Thanks for the help!
Lance Garrels
santafe199

*Another location has been found along with a date and the photographer! (see my long reply below) 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/27/25 06:56 by santafe199.

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That is a long train to have just four units? MY vote would lean towards Kansas as well.
JB

No pole line evident and pretty weedy track, branchline detour?
Somewhere on here?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panhandle_and_Santa_Fe_Railway



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/26/25 11:14 by PumpkinHogger.

Yessir PH! You’ve pretty well nailed it. Thanks to Chico56 our mutual friend Keel M got a ‘grapevine’ look at both shots. It was indeed a branch line detour, directly related to the massive flooding around Kansas in the summer of 1965. There will be a lot of amended information forthcoming. But first things first: I just got my brand new PC back out of the shop. Hopefully the startup issue (read: BUG) affecting the new Windows 11 has been corrected. If not, I’ll go back to my laptop from which I posted this morning…

Posted from iPhone

Added: I got my new PC back and the W-11 “bug” has been removed. But I was able find & respot only about half of the folders from my old desktop. I’ll have to amend this thread tomorrow after a Dr appt and errands to run…

Posted from iPhone

"coming up" the panhandle helps. If it's an east bound then the elevator is on the south side. If this is indeed a branch then is the train headed north? Questions, questions. I can't think of an elevator that big that far away from the tracks (assuming the tracks are running straight), however perhaps the old main between Kinsley and Hutch but if he's eastbound there isn't an elevator on the south side of the tracks there... I don't know, I think I'm lost. Lol!

I will just say story behind those two photos is quite interesting so suggest anyone interested stay tuned in to this thread and watch for Lance's amendment tomorrow!
Bryan

I really should give y’all a brief synopsis. I’ll try to remember the hi points from a highly detailed 30” phone chat with my long time friend Keel Middleton, who recently retired after 40+ years with AT&SF/BNSF. The late Lloyd Stagner took the shots in June of 1965, with the late Lynn Aldrich also in attendance. The train is actually #17 running TT east up the branch into S Hutchinson, KS. A bit further north it will re-gain its normal route, I think* somewhere near Way Yard, and resume its westward trek. The train came out of Emporia and went down the normal freight route to Wellington. Then went west on an unknown branch, turning north (TT east) on the commonly nicknamed panhandle branch* up to Hutch. The reason the images aren’t real sharp is because Lloyd never shot with anything more than a simple 35mm pocket point & shoot camera…

*someone will have to fact check me on all of these points. I really don’t know Kansas’ SFe Western Lines branches like I should…

I will check back in with Keel in the AM for all pertinent details. He will be home from Wichita late tonight…

Posted from iPhone

Another edit: I forgot to mention that Keel is almost finished up on a new book about the Plains (former Panhandle Division) territory. Good thing, because I can never keep that stuff straight… 😝



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/26/25 16:00 by santafe199.

So this was a reroute that went north from Harper up the H&S Sub into to Kingman and into Hutchinson. Very rare capture indeed. The elevator I'm guessing is South Hutchinson?

Posted from Android

Orient Wrote:
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> The elevator
> I'm guessing is South Hutchinson?

Correct.
Bryan
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/27/25 07:38 by Chico56.

OK... here's the story after conferring again with Keel: Due to flooding on the main line at Halstead, KS a complicated detour had to be made. This train came out of Kansas City to Newton for the regular 20" passenger and service stop. It then started the detour via Wichita and Mulvane down to Wellington and on to Harper where it turned north (TT east) on the H&S District. This branch was commonly nicknamed "panhandle branch". So we see westbound train #17 running Timetable East up the H&S District from Harper to Hutchinson, KS. The elevator seen in image #2 is actually in South Hutchinson. A bit further north it will re-gain its normal route at ND Jct which in those days was west of CH Jct (downtown, just west of the passenger depot). The train would have to travel on up to CH Jct and get turned on the WYE to get pointed back west. It then backed into the passenger depot at Hutch for its regular station stop. Departing Hutch it would take the "Kinsley Cutoff" resuming its normal, albeit very late westward trek. This also means the Super Chief  never missed any of its normal station stops...

I hope this clears everything up. I don't know how many of Santa Fe's passenger trains were detoured this way, but I'll bet it was a bunch. As an aside, I was thrilled to find out my late friend Lloyd Stagner shot the origial slides!

Lance 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/27/25 08:05 by santafe199.

Good job Lance, now everyone knows "rest of the story", Paul Harvey would be proud!
Bryan

Now I'm curious why they didn't run it west of Wichita to Kingman then north to Hutch? Perhaps other flooding issues or the wye in Kingman had its east leg oos.. In any case, thankyou very much for the pictures!

Orient Wrote: > ... I'm curious why they didn't run it west of Wichita to Kingman then north to Hutch?

I'm sure it was a matter of time saved. The Super Chief made passenger speeds Newton to Harper. Much faster than taking what might have been a 10 MPH branch all the way from Wichita to Kingman. I don't have any ETTs handy, but I'm thinking the mileage has to be longer from Wichita to Kingman than that from Harper to Kingman as well...

Lance



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/03/25 13:48 by santafe199.