By George Chambers, Photos by George

While on a vacation trip in the middle of May 2016 to visit relatives and friends I was able to do a little rail fanning, as my wife and I drove across Missouri from St. Louis to Kansas City.

Fig. 1 - 18” gauge flat car at Ha Ha Tonka State Park

Fig. 1 – 18” gauge flat car at Ha Ha Tonka State Park

We stopped for a couple of nights at a B&B (bed and breakfast) in the Lake of the Ozarks area. We did some hiking at Ha Ha Tonka State Park where I found what was left of an old narrow gauge railroad. This 18 inch gauge railroad was used to haul stone from a quarry to build a European style castle home started in 1905. This house was being built by Robert M. Snyder, a wealthy businessman from Kansas City. He had bought 5,000 acres of land which is now part of the state park. He died in 1906 in the first auto accident in Kansas City. His sons finished building the stone house and it later became a hotel. It burned up in 1942 as sparks from one of chimneys caught the roof on fire. Only the stone walls still stand. There is a short piece of track with one flat car near the house. The flat cars were hauled by mules.

Fig. 2 - 18” gauge flat car, another view

Fig. 2 – 18” gauge flat car, another view

We then headed to Kansas City to visit some friends. Our first tour was to St. Joe to see the Pony Express museum. Across the street from the museum is a city park with CB&Q 4-8-4 steam locomotive #5614 built in 1937 for $99,285.00.

We next took a tour of Union Station in Kansas City. It was built in 1914 for $6 million. During 1917 79,368 passenger trains came through the station, with 271 trains in one day. Now only a couple from Amtrak arrive and depart at the station. The station was closed in 1983, but a renovation was completed in 1999 for $250 million. It has 95 foot ceilings and three 3,500 pound chandeliers. The North Waiting Room could hold 10,000 passengers. Near by is the nation’s largest REA freight building. One room in the station houses several model railroads in HO, N and three rail O scale. An upstairs hallway has photos and 1/8 inch plans showing the construction of Union Station. Their web site is http://www.unionstation.org.

Fig. 3 - Stone castle ruins at Ha Ha Tonka State Park; stone for wall hauled by 18” gauge railroad

Fig. 3 – Stone castle ruins at Ha Ha Tonka State Park; stone for wall hauled by 18” gauge railroad

After seeing Union Station we took a ride on the new (only running for two weeks before we rode it) Kansas City streetcar line that is free to ride. It runs north from the station for about 2 miles before looping back. I didn’t get any photos of it operating since a rain storm came through dumping 4.5 inches in two hours. You did not want to be outside. Later in the day the street car derailed at the turnout by Union Station. A large tow truck was brought in to help rerail it.

Next we took a trip over to Atchison, Kansas where the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad had its beginning way back in 1860. Now Union Pacific trains come through town. There is a museum in the old stone freight house. Outside is a collection of freight and passenger cars, one Santa Fe steam locomotive No. 811, a 2-8-0 built by BLW (Baldwin Locomotive Works) in 1902. There is also one snowplow built from a steam locomotive tender in 1928.

While on the trip over to Atchison, we saw the remains of a BNSF derailment about 2 miles north of Farley, Missouri. There were several boxcars and lumber rack cars off the track. New flat car loads of concrete ties had been brought in and left on a nearby siding. Later on we saw lowboys with heavy equipment from a derailment specialist company heading to the scene of the derailment.

So … even when you are just on a trip to visit friends and relatives, you can still do some rail fanning.

Fig. 4 - CB&Q #5614, 4-8-4 locomotive at St. Joe, Missouri

Fig. 4 – CB&Q #5614, 4-8-4 locomotive at St. Joe, Missouri

Fig. 5 - Another view of the CB&Q locomotive

Fig. 5 – Another view of the CB&Q locomotive

Fig. 6 - Santa Fe locomotive #811 at Atchison, Kansas

Fig. 6 – Santa Fe locomotive #811 at Atchison, Kansas

Fig. 7 - Missouri Pacific snowplow X5790

Fig. 7 – Missouri Pacific snowplow X5790

Fig. 8 - Union Station at Kansas City, MO

Fig. 8 – Union Station at Kansas City, MO

Fig. 9 - Kansas City street car line turnout

Fig. 9 – Kansas City street car line turnout

Fig. 10 - Union Station interior

Fig. 10 – Union Station interior

Fig. 11 - Model train room in Union Station

Fig. 11 – Model train room in Union Station

Fig. 12 - Union Station waiting room that could hold 10,000 passengers

Fig. 12 – Union Station waiting room that could hold 10,000 passengers

Fig. 13 - Old KCS passenger locomotive at Union Station

Fig. 13 – Old KCS passenger locomotive at Union Station