Kansas Southern

Bob Yarger · **Posted:** Mon Jul 28, 2003 5:28 pm

This is that former AT&SF branch in south central Kansas that was recently put up for abandonment.

http://abpr2.railfan.net/abprphoto.cgi?january03/01-05-03/Dscf0738_1_1.jpg
ryarger@rypn.org

Bob Yarger · **Posted:** Mon Jul 28, 2003 5:32 pm

I think KS was a one-horse shortline. Not sure who owns it, but will probably be scrapped.

http://abpr.railfan.net/abprphoto.cgi?december02/12-30-02/KS523Oct01.jpg
ryarger@rypn.org

Bob Yarger · **Posted:** Mon Jul 28, 2003 5:34 pm

Actually two horses. Two different engines in the photos.

> I think KS was a one-horse shortline. Not
> sure who owns it, but will probably be
> scrapped.

http://abpr.railfan.net/abprphoto.cgi?december02/12-30-02/KS523Oct01.jpg
ryarger@rypn.org

L Beckman · **Posted:** Mon Jul 28, 2003 9:44 pm

> Actually two horses. Two different engines
> in the photos.

Seems to be a decent amount of traffic in the two photos. Perhaps they lost a key customer. Or the track became too bad to run on and no help from the agencies to help repair it. Hate to see ANY rail line go, especially one that seems to have some customers.

midlandblb@cs.com

G. Jenista · **Posted:** Tue Jul 29, 2003 10:04 am

> This is that former AT&SF branch in
> south central Kansas that was recently put
> up for abandonment.

This line belongs to well-known scrapper A&K Materials. They bought the line from OmniTRAX subsidiary Central Kansas Ry, and operated it for a time as the Victoria & Southern [a.k.a. KS]. Principal shipper was a gypsum mine 20 miles west of Medicine Lodge.

In keeping with their M.O. they never put any maintenance into the track. Conditions naturally got bad enough they couldn't make rail shipments, so the abandonment came as little surprise...

The same thing happened on the southern end of the Gyp Hill region, with the Kiowa Hardtner & Pacific short line, not many months previous..

hi_plain@yahoo.com

L Beckman · **Posted:** Tue Jul 29, 2003 11:25 am

> This line belongs to well-known scrapper
> A&K Materials. They bought the line from
> OmniTRAX subsidiary Central Kansas Ry, and
> operated it for a time as the Victoria &
> Southern [a.k.a. KS]. Principal shipper was
> a gypsum mine 20 miles west of Medicine
> Lodge.

> In keeping with their M.O. they never put
> any maintenance into the track. Conditions
> naturally got bad enough they couldn't make
> rail shipments, so the abandonment came as
> little surprise...

> The same thing happened on the southern end
> of the Gyp Hill region, with the Kiowa
> Hardtner & Pacific short line, not many
> months previous..

George:

This has been done before. My first reaction is that a federal investigation would be in order for this type of thing. But on second thought, just refuse abandonment. And send an FRA man out there every so often to MAKE SURE that no track is removed. To have an investment tied up in something that can't be re-couped, might just make these type of companies think twice about doing this in the future.

midlandblb@cs.com