Midland Railway (Kansas)

The Midland Railway was a heritage railroad operating 16 miles of line in Franklin and Douglas counties, Kansas between Ottawa, Kansas and Baldwin City, Kansas.

Midland Railway
Ex-MKT #142, an RS3m
Overview
HeadquartersBaldwin City, Kansas
Reporting markLLG (Reporting mark for Class III subsidiary Baldwin City & Southern Railroad)
LocaleDouglas / Franklin counties, Kansas, USA
Dates of operation1987–2023
SuccessorOttawa Northern Railroad
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length16 miles

It was chartered in 1982 to find an abandoned railroad line to operate. Midland purchased the line from Baldwin City to Ottawa, Kansas from the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in 1987, and began running excursion trains on part of the line later that year. Total length of the line is 16 miles (17.7 km).

Midland operated a demonstration historic railroad, and its mission was to "educate the public about the role railroading played, and continues to play, in the commercial, social, and cultural life of America's Heartland." Midland's base of operations is the depot built in 1906 by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway at 1515 High Street in Baldwin City. This building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. Midland had received two matching federal grants to rebuild track. Private grants have and are being used to rebuild railroad equipment. Starting in 2004, excursion trains are run all the way from Baldwin City to Ottawa.

The regular operating season ran from Memorial Day (last Monday of May) to October 31 (Halloween). Special events and fairs were held at various times through the year. Weekend Boy Scout camps were held in the spring and fall. Midland's Scout program was one of the few in the country to offer the Railroading merit badge.

Surface Transportation Board

A May 31, 2019 decision by the Surface Transportation Board states:[1]

On May 3, 2019, Leavenworth, Lawrence and Galveston Railroad d/b/a Baldwin City & Southern Railroad Company (Leavenworth), a noncarrier, filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 C.F.R. § 1150.31 to permit it to enter into an agreement to operate a rail line (the Line) owned by its corporate parent, Midland Railway Historical Association (Midland). The Line extends between milepost 14.95 at Baldwin, Kan., and milepost 26.04 at Ottawa, Kan., a total distance of 11.09 miles. Leavenworth states that Midland is a historic, nonprofit operator of a passenger excursion railroad. (Verified Notice 3.) According to Leavenworth, Midland purchased the Line in 1988 from Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad (ATSF),[1] after ATSF obtained authority from the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), the Board’s predecessor agency, to abandon it.

Baldwin City & Southern Railroad

In 2019, the Midland Railway created a wholly-owned, for-profit subsidiary called the Baldwin City & Southern Railroad (BC&SR).[2] The original plan was for the BC&SR to take over all active railroad operations, while Midland would focus on public education and historic preservation.[2][3] In November of 2019 the BC&SR was awarded a $750,000 Kansas Department of Commerce grant to help with operational costs to transition from the all-volunteer model under which Midland operates, to an employee-based model, with a grant requirement to have at least 22 employees.[2] However, the BC&SR service was discontinued in March of 2020 following a rent dispute with the operator of Baldwin City’s historic train depot.[2]

Kansas Belle Dinner Train

The Kansas Belle Dinner Train, which also operated out of the Baldwin City depot, utilized Midland’s track and locomotives but was separately owned.[2][4] That train on March 14, 2020 also suspended services, and had not resumed them by mid-2022.[4][5]

Stops

See also

References
  1. "SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD DECISION DOCUMENT". STB.gov. SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  2. "Baldwin City & Southern evicted from depot, ends tourist rides". Elvyn Jones, LJWorld.com, March 8, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  3. "Midland Railway has ambitious plans in wake of recent success and $750K grant". Elvyn Jones, LJWorld.com, March 8, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  4. "Midland Railway settles three lawsuits, uncertain when tourist rides will resume". Elvyn Jones, LJWorld.com, April 30, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  5. "Homepage". Kansas Belle Dinner Train. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  6. "Nowhere, Kansas - Kansas Cyclist Photo Viewer".
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