Part 2: Leavenworth, Topeka and Southwestern Railroad

Originally written by John Bower, as a two-part article on the L.T. & SW Railroad, this article was published in the Jefferson County Historical Society Newsletters of August and September 1982.

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Principal source for the early history is The Oskaloosa Independent, published for 100 years in Oskaloosa by the Roberts family (to be cited as IND, or simply by the date of issue where the source is indicated by the text). [John Wesley Roberts was the Independent editor at the time of the L.T. & SW Railroad bond issues and construction. His son F.H. Roberts took over as editor in July 1882.]

PART 2: HALF A CENTURY OF SERVICE AND STRUGGLE, 1882 -1931

Map from "People's Railroad: The Leavenworth and Topeka, 1879-1931"
by I.E. Quastler

Ninth Draft, October 18, 2000

Manuscript held in the Historical Research Division of the Kansas Historical Society

It was probably appropriate that the first train from Leavenworth to Topeka over the new line was only a locomotive and one car. (The Oskaloosa Independent, “IND” Oct. 14, 1882) Thirty-nine years later, writing for The Topeka Daily Capital (TDC Sep. 25, 1921), F.H. Roberts related how the independent line had been “taken over” by the Santa Fe and Union Pacific companies, which then “owned” the territory invaded by the little stranger.

“As the years went by, with one engine and three or four freight cars and an accommodation compartment coach dragging their slow way one round trip per day over the line, the annual reports showed ...deficits ...running from $20,000 to $40,000 a year.” After being turned over by the construction company in May 1883, the road was operated by the Santa Fe until January 1889, then by the Union Pacific until March 1894. It was in receivership until reorganized as the Leavenworth and Topeka Railroad (L&T) January 31, 1900. Stock in the new company, as before, was held by the UP and the Santa Fe. (ICC Docket 601)

Operations continued as before. The L&T spent a dollar and thirty cents for every dollar taken in. Losses were absorbed by the parent companies. (ICC Docket 601) Though the charter called for separate freight and passenger service, they ran one mixed train per day. (Kansas City Star, Aug. 1, 1916)

According to the Star, matters came to a head in March when the Kansas Public Utilities Commission (PUC) ordered the L&T into receivership, protesting they were already losing $25,000 a year. U.S. District Judge John Pollock tossed the ball back to the PUC by asking it to select the receiver. He was not to be paid a large management fee, and he must pay expenses from revenues.

W.A. Austin, retired businessman, formerly with the Burlington Railroad, was appointed receiver at $100 a month. He immediately put on a passenger train, giving the area better service than it had had in years. An attempt by the Santa Fe to prevent use of its tracks into Topeka by the new passenger train was blocked by Judge Pollock.

The Star painted a rosy picture. Austin was making improvements on the track and giving better service, while making a little money every month. The Star had a simple explanation: The U.P. and the Santa Fe had been “milking” the orphan road.

Though it was the shortest route between Topeka and Leavenworth, not one through ticket had been sold over the L&T in five years. No joint rate existed with any other road; an L&T agent could not sell a ticket to any place not on the line. Now, Austin was even talking of putting on an overnight sleeping car for Chicago and the east.

Another midsummer night’s dream appeared in 1916. According to The Topeka State Journal (TSJ) on July 29, 1916, the Willard E. Winner interests of Kansas City had purchased the L&T and would convert it to electric inter-urban service. Local freight and produce would be handled, but the big thing would be hourly trolley car service between Topeka and Kansas City, seven days a week.

Track would be laid on the 34-year-old unused grade between Meriden and Topeka. Cars would enter Topeka near Garfield Park and run up Kansas Avenue on the street car tracks.

Recreational use was to be featured. “Some of the most attractive fishing, outing and camping resorts and locations in the midwest are on the line between this city and Leavenworth,” the Journal enthused, 40 years before Lake Perry was formed. There was talk of a branch line from Oskaloosa through Valley Falls to Holton.

While this proved to be only a pipe dream, it is interesting to ponder the effect of hourly inter-urban service to Kansas City and Topeka on Oskaloosa and other Jefferson County towns in that still largely horse and buggy era.

Things returned to normal early in 1917 when the passenger train was taken off, by order of Judge Pollock at the request of receiver Austin, and to the embarrassment of Governor Arthur Capper. (TSJ Feb. 6, 1917) According to The Journal, The Topeka Capital, Capper’s newspaper had been touting the success of the L&T under Austin in support of the governor’s public utility bill in the legislature.

Needling Governor Capper for the report, the Capital printed the notarized document bearing Austin’s signature from official court records, and, gleefully added Morgan Albaugh, clerk of the United States court, expressed regret that Governor Capper had not proven himself big enough and fair enough to specifically correct the misstatement in Monday’s Capital editorial.”

Pollock gave the Union Pacific and the Santa Fe ten days to end the receivership and operate the road or to foreclose the mortgage and put the line up for sale. (TDC Feb. 11, 1917) He revived the hope of making it an electric line.

It took all summer to find a buyer. In September, the L&T was sold to a group headed by Chicago capitalist F.L. Wells. (TSJ Sep. 17, 1917) The new owners talked about improved service, including use of motor coaches for carrying passengers.

Their real intention, however, appears to have been much simpler. Wartime demand for scrap iron had raised prices enough that the new owners could junk the line at a profit. Like the Rock Island 60 years later, the L&T was worth more for scrap than as an operating line.

Now the life of the L&T hung by a thread. By December, patrons along the line and businessmen from Leavenworth and Topeka were protesting an attempt to scrap the rails from Ozawkie to Meriden. (TDC Dec. 24, 1917) Citizens argued this was just the preliminary to junking the whole line. (TDC Dec. 31, 1917)

A.O. Kendall, cashier of the Ozawkie State Bank [original article refers to “A.O. Kandall,” other references say “Kendall”], in a letter to Congressman Daniel R. Anthony, said that sale of the L&T to private interests at a price less than its junk value was a move by the Santa Fe and Union Pacific to eliminate competition, while speculators made money junking the line. (TSJ Jan. 2, 1918) When Topeka wholesale business concerns tried to help the road by diverting eastern shipments over it, the letter related, the L&T bridge-men condemned the bridge over the Delaware at Ozawkie. An engineer for the Public Utilities Commission said it could be fixed for $600.

“Our conclusions are,” Kendall asserted, “that Mr. Wells bought this road with the object of junking it ... his operation has been with this object in view and managed so it would unprofitable.”

An attempt was made to use wartime control of the nation’s railroads to prevent scrapping the line. At a conference with the government railroad administration in Washington (TSJ Jan. 24, 1918), counsel for the Kansas PUC presented information to show that the L&T had been purposely operated at a loss for years to destroy it as a competitor. Congressman [Daniel Read] Anthony argued that congestion in the Kansas City terminal could be relieved by diverting traffic from the north to the southwest over the line, while junking it would leave several towns and grain elevators without service when grain was needed in the war effort.

The attempt to use federal war controls to save the L&T failed when the government decided not to take control of small railroad lines. (TDC, Feb. 2, 1918) Notices were sent to customers along the line that service would end on Wednesday, Feb. 6.

Trustees of townships which had voted bonds to build the line, and Topeka shippers, immediately lodged vigorous protests with the federal court against destruction of the road. A protest meeting was called at Oskaloosa Monday, Feb. 4.

At a hearing before Judge Pollock in Kansas City February 19, Wells claimed the railroad was losing $1,000 a month, while he could sell it as scrap for from$160,000 to $200,000. (TDC Feb. 20, 1918) Patrons of the line protested strongly.

After a long day, Pollock said he would sell it to the people along the line as an operating road for $80,000, less taxes due. He gave them thirty days to raise the money. This scaled-down price probably allowed Wells some profit.

F.H. Roberts, editor of The Oskaloosa Independent, served as chairman of the committee to raise the money. (TDC, May 11, 1918) Walter Johnson, managing editor of The Topeka Daily Capital, took a prominent part. (Chicago Tribune, Current Opinion, April 1919, Page 268) More than $100,000 was subscribed by some 800 farmers and businessmen along the line, in amounts $10 to $1,500. (TDC, April 4, 1918)

The Capital reporter painted with vivid strokes the scene in the “dingy” offices of the L&T as the committee made its offer to buy. Mingling with the farmers and merchants, “some of whom saw possible ruin staring them in the face in property was wrecked,” were “commercial vultures, or junk dealers, eager to hop upon the carrion… Little did they care…”

When some Topeka businessmen threatened to withdraw their support because Judge Pollock retained control of the road until the new owners proved they could run it, the Capital ran a blistering editorial (May 27), declaring, “Topeka can afford to put up $15,000 for this purpose if it never sees a cent of the money again. To refuse to do this is to give Topeka a black eye with the people of this territory from which this community will never recover…” If a tornado hit Jefferson County, they would be quick to give aid, he said, and loss of the railroad would be far worse.

“L&T RAILROAD IS PURCHASED BY PATRONS OF LINE” ran the headline in the May 11 Capital. The good guys in this “long and bitter fight” were the members of the citizens’ committee and Capital editor Johnson. The bad guys were capitalist Wells and his attorney, James W. Orr of Atchison, and “The State Journal, of Topeka, which misrepresented the activities of the committee at every turn, and did not hesitate to resort to plain and fancy lying in its effort to deprive the people of this needed railroad service and to deal Topeka a deadly blow in this rich territory…”

Said editor Johnson, “It has been a hard fight, but it has been demonstrated that a determined people and a just court can circumvent even the most wily lawyer and the most avaricious speculator if there is a will to do it.” Johnson believed that community ownership could solve the problems of many branch lines.

The new Leavenworth and Topeka Railroad Company was chartered May 16, 1918. Among the incorporators were Sam Hill, Ackerland; Walter Pennington and G.M. Casebier, McLouth; F.H. Roberts and Horace Phinney, Oskaloosa; and O.A. Kendall and Ira Puderbaugh, Ozawkie. (TSJ, May 16, 1918) J.E. Wadill, Kansas City lumberman, who had three yards along the line and was the largest stockholder, was elected president. (TDC, May 18)

The people had bought themselves a railroad. Now all they had to do was run it. If they failed, it would go back to Wells.

Service was restored once (TDC, June 8), but troubles were not over. Within a year, Topeka stockholders were asking townships served by the road to issue bonds to retire the capital stock and make needed improvements. (TDC, May 17, 1919) Valley Falls, which had daily train service, was reported ready to make a fight for the county seat. “At times Oskaloosa does not see a train for several days, said W.H. Stanley, editor of the Meriden Ledger,” the Capital reported.

High water damaged the bridges at Ozawkie in the spring of 1919. To repair the washouts and make improvements in equipment, the directors asked stockholders to raise a fund equal to about ten percent of the face value of their stock. (IND, April 4, 1919) Certificates would be issued to cover the additional contributions.

Soon after acquiring the L&T, directors had put on a gasoline powered motor car — a converted Reo automobile — for passenger service. The motor had had a number of accidents, all the way from derailment at crossings to knocking a farmer’s wagon off the track, but “it remained for a mangy old shepherd dog to put the gas wagon completely out of business.” (IND, May 16, 1919)

The dog had often run ahead of the car, barking furiously, while the motorman chased him. One day they caught him. The bus derailed and was demolished. One of the passengers, Lew Wiley of Oskaloosa, said the car ran on the ties several rods, then turned over three or four times as it fell down the embankment. Miraculously, [only] one of the eight people aboard was seriously injured.

It was some time before motor service was restored. People were complaining about lack of the service. A new motor was promised by September. (IND, June 13, 1919) While the service had been popular, our limited research did not confirm of a new motor until the summer of 1921.

A new motor coach was put in service in July. (TSJ, July 23, 1921) Housed at McLouth, it went to Meriden twice and to Leavenworth once every day, allowing Jefferson County passengers to spend several hours in either Topeka or Leavenworth and return home the same day.

The new service was an immediate success. (TDC, Sept. 27, 1921) Built to order by the White Motor Company of Kansas City, the new bus was longer and heavier than the old Reo. Seating about 25, it had carried as many as 64 persons. It cleared about $1,000 the first month.

Known affectionately as “The Galloping Goose,” it was a familiar sight and sound on the L&T during the twenties. I can still hear the hum of its wheels and the trill of its exhaust whistle, and remember the thrill of riding it to Leavenworth.

In July 1919, the directors proposed a bond issue to pay off the line’s debts and buy equipment, (IND, July 25, 1919) They had secured legislation setting up a benefit district four miles wide on each side of the line. (TDC, Sept. 27, 1921)

After employees struck the Kansas Northwestern Railroad, which also served McLouth and Oskaloosa (IND, Aug. 8, 1919), the Independent cited the uncertain future of the KCNW to encourage support of the railroad bonds. (Aug. 22, 1919)

The McLouth Times (IND Aug. 29, 1919), called attention to the bad fix the country and towns would have been in during the strike but for the “little old L&T.” The Jefferson County part of the district approved $50,000 for the railroad; Leavenworth County $25,000. (TFC, Sept. 27, 1921)

Officers and directors served without pay as a community service. Among those serving in 1921 were A.O. Kendall and Ira Puderbaugh, Ozawkie; A.H. Leech, Oskaloosa; E.D. Bradford, George Casebier and H.H. Kimmel, McLouth; and Sam Hill, Ackerland. F.H. Roberts was Assistant General Manager. (TDC Sept. 27, 1921)

By 1923, Roberts was managing the line himself. (TDC, Aug. 9, 1925) He had effected further economy by running the train on alternate days, substituting a second motor coach on days the train did not run. Train crewmen manned the extra motor. Deficiencies in operating revenue were made up by an annual tax levy on the benefit district. In 1925, the levy was two mills and raised about $14,000.

But times were changing. By 1919 the good roads movement was in full swing. The first federal aid paved road in the county, running from Nortonville to Williamstown, was approved in early summer. (IND July 4, 1919) (From Oskaloosa south the road is little changed today.) Development of highway transportation doomed shortline railroads.

The tax subsidy no longer seemed a good investment and was dropped in 1929. (TDC Apr. 21, 1931) As the Depression deepened, the directors gave up. The last train ran April 30, 1931.

Contract for scrapping the line went to Sonken Galamba of Kansas City at the depression price of $6,500. (TDC Apr. 22, 1931) We had a sawmill in those days, and made lumber of many of the timbers from L&T trestles. Some of it went into the large, metal covered barn which has been a landmark for half a century on the first hill north of McLouth.

Terminal tracks in Leavenworth belonging to the L&T had already been sold to the Burlington for $165,000 and the bonds paid off. (TDC Apr. 22, 1931) Some land would revert to the original landowners; some could be sold. With the debts paid, about $40,000 remained to be distributed to stockholders — about 25 percent of par value.

So ended half a century of struggle and service.

Crossing a rough terrain, and having to fight for business with two giant competitors who controlled it much of its life, there were few easy times. Indeed, “Old Jerky” was something of a joke as a railroad.

They tell of one conductor who signaled departures with “let ’er go, Newt — one load and two empties.” With little business and heavy grades, trains were seldom very long. Even so, they sometimes stalled. Dad told of waiting west of McLouth while they took half of the train to the siding at McIntosh and came back for the rest.

They used to say the train went so slow west of Oskaloosa that you could get off and pick blackberries along the track. Sometimes they broke down, or stopped while the crew went for a drink at a nearby farmhouse.

There were many cuts in the hills near McLouth. In winter they drifted full of snow, and the train got stuck. The heaviest snowfall I can remember came in 1926 — 26 inches in about 24 hours. Roads were blocked. School was out. The train was stuck two or three days about two miles east of McLouth.

My grandmother Kimmel was on that train. With snow already falling, the trainmen wanted her to stay in Leavenworth. But Grandma was the wife of a director. She had a pass. Dad had a sled and a big team of horses. They brought Grandma and the mail across the fields, cutting fences as they went.

Fifty years later, few remember the call of the whistle or the chirp of the “Galloping Goose.” Many of the newcomers who have flocked to Jefferson County do not know that trains once ran almost through Oskaloosa, though much of the grade is still visible if you look for it.

As I said, there were few easy times. But after making this study, I believe the effort to bring a railroad across the middle of Jefferson County was worthwhile and I take off my hat in admiration to the men who carried it out.

— John D. Bower

Editors’ notes: On April 10, 1931, The Oskaloosa Independent carried this article: “Jess Davies, manager of the L.&T. railroad, has posted notices in the depots and elsewhere, along the line notifying the public that operation of the road will case on April 30th. This gives the patronizing public twenty days in which to ship in or out the ‘heavy’ after which it will be up to the trucks.”

 Further Reading:

 “The People’s Railroad, The Leavenworth &Topeka, 1918-1931,” by I.E. Quastler, Kansas History magazine, Spring 2001. A copy is available at the JCGS Research Library or online.

Quastler also wrote a complete study of the railroad, “People’s Railroad: The Leavenworth & Topeka, 1879-1931.” The manuscript is in the Historical Research Division, Library and Archives, Kansas State Historical Society. A copy is available at the JCGS Research Library.

This article appeared in “Yesteryears” in April 2015.