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  • Kansas City area

  • Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in the American Midwest, including Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Kansas. For questions specific to a railroad company, please seek the appropriate forum.
Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in the American Midwest, including Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Kansas. For questions specific to a railroad company, please seek the appropriate forum.

Moderator: railohio

 #390341  by dhaugh
 
I was wondering if there are any good sources for railfanning in the Kansas City area. I've been down there twice & it's absolutely overwhelming. Sure, I found Argentine & Neff, but it'd be nice to have a source that showed tonnage or train frequency on the main lines. Even better would be something that showed branch and spur tracks, however huge such a map might be.

Second, when I left I followed highway 210 a ways, stopping in the town of Hardin, MO. I was a bit confused by whose tracks I was following as the MO DOT map wasn't real clear here. A BNSF stack train was sitting in Hardin & when it left, instead of going straight on, it veered off to the south and got onto another (single?) track. Possibly a connector track between the two very seperate lines. East of Hardin, the track the BNSF turned onto is gone. It goes into town to an elevator and loop track, but ends at the highway. Whose track was this and why would BNSF use it west of Hardin?

 #392485  by zwsplac
 
There are no good maps of the KC Area that I know of showing rail lines and frequencies. However, almost all of the lines are busy (20+) trains.

Second question, Santa Fe and Wabash have had a joint trackage arrangement between CA Junction and WB Junction for years, and it has translated on to BNSF/NS. Between CA Junction and Hardin, the ex-Atsf is double track, and about 100 yards south is the single remaining iron of the wabash portion. It functions as triple track. At Hardin, the ex Wabash joins with the ex-Santa Fe, and all that remains in Hardin is the grain spur. However, east of the highway overpass on the east end of town, the one of the double tracks splits off and uses the ex-Wabash alignment to WB Junction. Confused?