Florence, El Dorado, and Walnut Valley Railroad explained

The Florence, El Dorado, and Walnut Valley Railroad was a short-line railroad in central Kansas.

History

In 1877, the Florence, El Dorado, and Walnut Valley Railroad Company built a branch line from Florence to El Dorado. In 1881, it was extended to Douglass, and later to Arkansas City.^[1] In 1901, the line was leased and operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, which used the name "Florence & Arkansas City Division" for it.^[2]

The line from Florence to El Dorado was abandoned in 1942^{[3] [4]} to reclaim the metal rails for the war effort during World War II because of a shortage of materials during those years.

Currently, the remaining part of the former Florence, El Dorado, and Walnut Valley Railroad that still exists is:^[5]

• El Dorado to Arkansas City.

Stations

At a high-level, the railroad connected the primary cities of Florence (north end), El Dorado, Augusta, Winfield, Arkansas City (south end).

Marion County

• Florence (north end)
• Hampson, station ^[6]
• Burns

Butler County

• Alki, station
• De Graff
• El Dorado
• Augusta
• Douglass

Cowley County

• Rock
• Akron, station ^[7]
• Winfield
• Arkansas City (south end)

See also

• Marion and McPherson Railroad, a defunct railroad that started in Florence.
• Southern Transcon, currently uses tracks from El Dorado to Augusta.
• List of Kansas railroads

Further reading

• Stouffer's Railroad Map of Kansas; J.W. Stouffer; 1 page; 1915–1918.
• Standard Atlas of Marion County, Kansas; Geo. A. Ogle & Co; 103 pages; 1902.
• Standard Atlas of Butler County, Kansas; Geo. A. Ogle & Co; 69 pages; 1905.
• Standard Atlas of Cowley County, Kansas; Geo. A. Ogle & Co; 54 pages; 1905.

External links

• Current Kansas Railroad Map

Notes and References

1. Marion County Kansas : Past and Present; Sondra Van Meter; MB Publishing House; LCCN 72-92041; 344 pages; 1972.
2. https://books.google.com/books?id=o8X5krq3fP8C&pg=PA504 Florence & Arkansas City Division in Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History; Standard Publishing Co; 805 pages; 1912.
3. http://www.abandonedrails.com/Florence_to_El_Dorado Railway Abandonment 1942
4. Web site: Burns Suffers From Stopped Rail Service, page 7; Peabody Gazette-Bulletin; 8 pages; October 8, 1942. . 2014-05-21 . 2014-05-21 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140521122329/http://peabody.advantage-preservation.com/document/peabody-gazette-herald-1942-10-08-page-7 . dead .
5. http://www.ksdot.org/BurTransPlan/maps/RRStateMap.asp Kansas Railroad Map; KDOT.
6. https://books.google.com/books?id=o8X5krq3fP8C&pg=PA805 Hampson in Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History; Standard Publishing Co; 805 pages; 1912.
7. https://books.google.com/books?id=o8X5krq3fP8C&pg=PA55 Akron in Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History; Standard Publishing Co; 805 pages; 1912.