Southern Kansas City Model Railroad Historical Society

FIRE ENGULFS SKO RAILROAD TRESTLE EAST OF INDEPENDENCE Fire departments from multiple communities are on scene of a railroad trestle fire east of Independence. ...The railroad trestle, which is located north of the City of Independence sewage treatment plant, belongs to the South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad. This is NOT the trestle that spans the Verdigris River but spans a gulley northeast of the river, just south of county road 4600. Firefighters are still on scene, but photographs provided to the Montgomery County Chronicle by several witnesses and a drone operator reveal the extent of the fire. Access to the trestle has been barricaded by law enforcement as local fire departments attempt to keep the fire from spreading, albeit under difficult conditions. This particular SKO Railroad line extends from Cherryvale to Independence and Caney before entering Oklahoma and terminating at the Port of Catoosa, where the SKO provides direct and critical shipping access to that inland port along the Arkansas River. Watco Companies, based in Pittsburg, is the parent company of the SKO Railroad. A company official told the Montgomery County Chronicle that a safety team from the company will be on site tonight to evaluate the trestle's condition once the flames are extinguished.

Kellyville, OK; and no, I was not on the tracks; I was using a telephoto lens . . .

The rescue of a 135 year old steam locomotive! It's a great story.

Idaho/Montana border last week

KCTV5 News learned on Friday that there will be more layoffs at Union Pacific.

Union Pacific's newly refurbished steam locomotive was an awe-inspiring sight as it chugged its way into KC on Sunday night.

https://youtu.be/bBwqWFTeVWQ

The return trip of the Southern Belle has been much slower than the trip south. Here KCS2 crosses an irrigation canal in Amelia, TX. Numerous delays on the Unio...n Pacific Beaumont sub and a bridge cerfew in Beaumont has resulted in a less than ideal progress enroute to Shreveport. At this rate it will be a miracle he does not go on the law in Beaumont. UP PRBBTJ 17, KCS BLRSH17, KCS2, Amelia, TX See more

This three unit (CP#5996, #5866, 6067) Herzog ballast train was heading southbound through Wabasha, MN on a Saturday evening 9/28/19 around 5 PM. The next day ...9/29/19 around 10:00 am it was making a return trip heading northbound. I caught it on the return waiting for a green signal at the Midland West freight station on the CP River Sub. UPDATED: Thanks to input from Josh Cleary and Jeremiah Trane providing more information. The train would have been full of rock from a quarry in Dresser, WI on it's southbound route to Marquette Sub and would have been empty on it's return Sunday morning.