Home Page › Forums › Prototype and Historical › Passenger Operations & Equipment › Topeka KS – MoPac Passenger Service
- This topic is empty.
-
AuthorPosts
-
June 16, 2018 at 3:26 am #5889benjamintickell53Participant
A recent question to the MPHS Archivist requested information about the last MP passenger train serving Topeka. Topeka was at the end of a 39-mile branchline which connected with the Kansas City-Pueblo mainline at Lomax.
As late as the September 12, 1926 public timetable, Pittsburg KS to Topeka passenger trains 641-642 were shown as conventional passenger trains. By the time of the October 17, 1926 timetable, the trains had been converted to motor car trains. Note that “Connection is effected with the Rainbow” at Garnett, Kansas. As both conventional and motor car trains, No. 641-642 operated Pittsburg KS to Topeka, originating at Pittsburg and making a turn to Topeka each day, via Fort Scott, Blue Mound Garnett and Lomax. This service was still in effect with the November 1, 1932 public timetable. The February 5, 1933 timetable (schedule effective January 14, 1933) shows motor trains 641-642 operating only between Fort Scott and Topeka, originating at Fort Scott daily. That schedule remained through the April 29, 1934 public timetable.
An extensive branchline extending from Pittsburg to Fort Scott to Lomax was abandoned in 1934, and the June 17, 1934 public timetable (schedule effective June 3, 1934) was the first to reflect this change, with motor car trains 641-642 now operating only between Topeka and Lomax. At this point, the motor car originated in Topeka and made a turn to the mainline connection (the daytime Kansas City-Hoisington locals) at Lomax before returning to Topeka. In the same issue, the route map was adjusted to erase the trackage from Pittsburg to Lomax.
Missouri Pacific passenger service to Topeka ended sometime between July 1 and October 1938, when motor car trains 641-642 were discontinued.
Bill Pollard
============
[attachment=5:3tlkht4o]Topeka_0004w.jpg[/attachment:3tlkht4o][attachment=4:3tlkht4o]Topeka_9-1926w.jpg[/attachment:3tlkht4o]
[attachment=3:3tlkht4o]Topeka_10-1926w.jpg[/attachment:3tlkht4o]
[attachment=2:3tlkht4o]Topeka_2-1933w.jpg[/attachment:3tlkht4o]
[attachment=1:3tlkht4o]Topeka_6-1934w.jpg[/attachment:3tlkht4o]
Motor car 606 was photographed at Topeka on May 13, 1934. It is likely that this smaller car was assigned to Topeka for use after the service was cut back to operate only between Topeka and Lomax. May 17, 1934 was the last run date for the Topeka & Ft Scott Railway Post Office, so this smaller car could have been used after that date, when a RPO-baggage trailer car was no longer needed.
[attachment=0:3tlkht4o]MP-606-Topeka-5-13-1934-w.jpg[/attachment:3tlkht4o]
June 16, 2018 at 11:37 am #8256peggyrothschildParticipantBill
I’ll look today I might have a photo of a gas-electric at Topeka and will add it here. I worked at Lomax in 1974 and never realized the Topeka branch extended south. Don’t tell Norbert or he’ll cancel my ‘Mopac historian card’.Off topic but related to Topeka; in the 1970-80’s some lumber loads off the Pacific Northwest were waybilled to Topeka. The tariff allowed for one free diversion so the move to Topeka allowed the lumber broker several days additional transit time to sell the lumber as going to Topeka was a tri-weekly local out of Osawatomie. I got involved when the trainmaster or Superintendent called and was complaining that was generally the only business going up the branch so we put in a business rule in TSC to hold the cars at Osawatomie and avoid the round trip to Topeka. Brokers still got the additional time but we saved the unnecessary move.
After merger, the tariff was changed to encourage the brokers to rebill the loads before they reached North Platte. If they failed to do so the diversion was chargeable.
June 16, 2018 at 3:19 pm #8276benjamintickell53ParticipantThe Fort Scott-Lomax-Topeka segment was originally construted by the Kansas, Nebraska & Dakota Railway in 1886-1887. The abandonment between Fort Scott and Lomax was approved by the Interstate Commerce Commission in Finance Docket 9881, published in ICC Reports Volume 199 (199 ICC 363). The southern part of this line, Fort Scott to Pittsburg, remained in operation into the early 1960s or longer.
Bill Pollard
[attachment=0:a005z5wm]199-ICC-363-MP-abandonment.pdf[/attachment:a005z5wm]
June 16, 2018 at 6:08 pm #8277benjamintickell53ParticipantRailway Post Office service began as the Topeka & Fort Scott RPO on February 10, 1887. From June 16, 1892 – January 14, 1893, the route was briefly extended as the Topeka & Coffeyville RPO before being restored to its previous Fort Scott end terminal. From July 25, 1904 – April 30, 1905 the run was extended as the Topeka & Carthage RPO before again being cut back to Fort Scott. The last run of the Topeka & Fort Scott RPO was May 19, 1934.
Data from RPO Routes by State and Railroad, published by the Mobile Post Office Society.
Bill Pollard
June 16, 2018 at 9:26 pm #8278peggyrothschildParticipantPage four of the ICC reports mentions a branch line study made by the MP would be interesting to find it. The line from Boonville to Versailles was abandoned in 1936 as example of another branch – do you have that as well? Jerry and I are working on an article on it.
June 19, 2018 at 4:10 am #8816benjamintickell53ParticipantTwo photos of MP passenger (motor) trains at Topeka, from the collection of Tony Fey. The first photo was taken by William Gipson Sr, train 642, in the winter of 1927-1928. The second photo was taken by Ray Hilner, also train 642, on May 13,1934. The short RPO-baggage car behind the gas-electric carried the Topeka & Fort Scott RPO.
[attachment=0:19cthver]MP-TR#642-Topeka-5-1934-Ray-Hilner.jpg[/attachment:19cthver]
[attachment=1:19cthver]MP-TR#642-at-Topeka-1927-28-Wm-Gibson-Sr.jpg[/attachment:19cthver]
December 16, 2019 at 5:17 am #9561benjamintickell53ParticipantFrom Facebook:
A Missouri Pacific Railroad 2-8-0 steam locomotive, No. 124, is pictured in Topeka, Kan., on 1940 with a lone combination passenger car. This train would have traveled north over a branch line from Lomax, Kan., which was a junction on the former MoPac Kansas City-Pueblo line. I have no other details on the train.
(Photo by W.A. Gibson Sr.; from Larry Byers collection)
===========================
So…. if this photo is 1940, and Public Timetables indicate that passenger service ended in 1938, could this have been a mixed train?[attachment=0:1wshzk5p]124-Topeka-1940.jpg[/attachment:1wshzk5p]
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
