The Kansas Pacific Railway (KP) was a historic railroad company that operated in the western United States in the late 19th century. It was a federally chartered railroad, backed with government land grants. At a time when the
first transcontinental railroad
America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the "Overland Route (Union Pacific Railroad), Overland Route") was a continuous railroad line built between 1863 and 1869 that connected the exis ...
was being constructed by the
Central Pacific and the
Union Pacific
The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...
, it tried and failed to join the transcontinental ranks. It was originally the "Union Pacific, Eastern Division", although it was completely independent. The Pennsylvania Railroad, working with Missouri financiers, designed it as a feeder line to the transcontinental system. The owners lobbied heavily in Washington for money to build a railroad from Kansas City to Colorado, and then to California. It failed to get funding to go west of Colorado. It operated many of the first long-distance lines in the state of
Kansas
Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
in the 1870s, extending the national railway network westward across that state and into
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
. Its main line furnished a principal transportation route that opened up settlement of the central
Great Plains
The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...
, and its link from
Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...
to
Denver
Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
provided the last link in the coast-to-coast railway network in 1870. The railroad was consolidated with the
Union Pacific
The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...
in 1880, and its mainline continues to be an integral part of the Union Pacific network today.
[William R. Petrowski, "The Kansas Pacific Railroad in the Southwest." ''Arizona and the West'' (1969): 129-146.]
History
The Kansas Pacific began in 1855 as the Leavenworth, Pawnee and Western Railroad, and was later reorganized in 1863 as the Union Pacific Eastern Division. The UP Eastern was authorized by the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
as part of the
Pacific Railway Act, in order to create a second southerly branch of the
transcontinental railroad
A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous rail transport, railroad trackage that crosses a continent, continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks may be via the Ra ...
, alongside the
Union Pacific
The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...
. The name "Kansas Pacific" was not adopted until 1869. The original intent of the railroad was to build a line west from
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...
, across Kansas to
Fort Riley
Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas, on the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 101,733 acres (41,170 ha) in Ge ...
, then north to join the Union Pacific main line at
Fort Kearny in
Nebraska
Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...
. The construction of the line was motivated in part by the desire of the U.S. government to extend transportation routes into Kansas, which had been the scene of ongoing conflict between future
Union and
Confederate
A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
sympathizers even prior to the start of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
(1861–1865), in what was called
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas, or the Border War, was a series of violent civil confrontations in Kansas Territory, and to a lesser extent in western Missouri, between 1854 and 1859. It emerged from a political and ideological debate over the ...
.
The company began construction on its main line westward from Kansas City in September 1863. In 1864, the first of the line to
Lawrence was in operation. In the fall of 1866, the line had reached
Junction City, which became the end of the first division of the railroad and where a roundhouse was constructed. In 1867 the line reached to
Salina. In March 1869, the name was changed by Act of the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
to the Kansas Pacific. As in the case with the Union Pacific, the Pacific Railway Act authorized large land grants to the
railroad
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
along its mainline. Such grants were to be distributed to
homesteaders who would populate the lands near the railroad, forming new towns and providing the economic activity needed to support the railroad itself. During the construction,
William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody was employed to shoot buffalo to provide meat for the track laying crews.
Although the railroad had intended originally to build only as far west as Fort Riley, citizens in
Denver
Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
in the
Colorado Territory
The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the 38th State of Colorado.
The territory was organized ...
, eager to be connected to the national network, lobbied furiously to extend the Union Pacific lines to reach their city. In 1868, the U.S. Congress enacted a law that was signed by President
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a South ...
to build a second-phase extension of the line to the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...
, with the intention of continuing past Denver through the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...
to the Pacific, to compete with the Union Pacific main line. No funds were granted for the construction, however, a situation made more dire by the general collapse in railroad investments following the end of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
.
With the backing of German investors, the Kansas Pacific (KP) began construction on the Colorado extension in October 1869. By March 1870, the westward line had reached
Kit Carson, Colorado, and the company began to build eastward from Denver. On August 15, 1870, the two KP branches met on the
Colorado Eastern Plains
The Eastern Plains of Colorado refers to a region of the U.S. state of Colorado east of the Rocky Mountains and east of the population centers of the Front Range.
Geography
The Eastern Plains are part of the High Plains, which are the weste ...
at
Comanche Crossing, which was renamed
Strasburg in honor of an engineer of the Kansas Pacific.
The arrival of the first trains to Denver in August was two months after the completion in June 1870 of the
Denver Pacific Railway main line linking Denver with the Union Pacific at
Cheyenne
The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...
in the
Wyoming Territory
The Territory of Wyoming was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 25, 1868, until July 10, 1890, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Wyoming. Cheyenne was the territorial capital. The ...
. The Kansas Pacific and Denver Pacific lines intersected at the Denver "Jersey Junction", approximately three miles north of downtown. The Strasburg "joining of the rails" of the Kansas Pacific on August 15, 1870, actually marked the completion of a true coast-to-coast railway network in the United States. The
golden spike
The golden spike (also known as the last spike) is the ceremonial 17.6-Carat (purity), karat gold final Rail spike, spike driven by Leland Stanford to join the rails of the first transcontinental railroad across the United States connecting t ...
event in
Utah
Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
the previous year had marked the linking of the Union Pacific with the
Central Pacific Railroad
The Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) was a rail company chartered by U.S. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastwards from Sacramento, California, to complete most of the western part of the "First transcontinental railroad" in North Americ ...
, but until 1872, passengers were required to disembark between
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 62,799 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, te ...
, and
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
, to cross the
Missouri River
The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...
by boat.
In 1874, Union Pacific investor
Jay Gould
Jason Gould (; May 27, 1836 – December 2, 1892) was an American railroad magnate and financial speculator who founded the Gould family, Gould business dynasty. He is generally identified as one of the Robber baron (industrialist), robber bar ...
gained effective control of the Kansas Pacific. In 1880, the Kansas Pacific and the Denver Pacific were consolidated at Gould's direction into the Union Pacific. The company's intention to extend the old Kansas Pacific mainline through the Rockies was strengthened by renewed competition from its archrival, the
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy. In the early 1880s, the Union Pacific sent surveyors on several expeditions up the
Platte Canyon and the
Poudre Canyon. When the Burlington withdrew its plans for its own transcontinental line, however, the Union Pacific lost interest in extending a line west from Denver. It was not until 1934, with the completion of the Dotsero Cutoff, connecting the mainline of the
Denver and Salt Lake Railroad
The Denver and Salt Lake Railway (D&SL) was a List of United States railroads, U.S. railroad company located in Colorado. It was incorporated in 1902 as the Denver, Northwestern and Pacific (DN&P) Railway with the goal of connecting Denver, De ...
with the
Denver and Rio Grande Western mainline, that the standard gauge rail network west from Denver would cross the Rockies and reach
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
.
In 1885, the railroad went before the Supreme Court in ''
Kansas Pacific R. Co. v. Dunmeyer'' in a dispute over land titles.
Representation in fiction
The struggle to build the railway against the backdrop of the American Civil War was depicted in the 1953
western movie ''
Kansas Pacific'', starring
Sterling Hayden
Sterling Walter Hayden (born Sterling Relyea Walter; March 26, 1916 – May 23, 1986) was an American actor, author, sailor, and Marine. A leading man for most of his career, he specialized in Westerns and film noir throughout the 1950s, in film ...
and
Eve Miller
Eve Marilyn Miller (born Marilyn Miller; August 8, 1923 – August 17, 1973) was an American actress who appeared in 41 films between 1945 and 1961. She was born in Los Angeles, California, and died in Van Nuys, California. She died by sui ...
.
In
''Superman'' (1978 film),
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1 (June 1938). Lois is an award-winning ...
as a girl is shown riding with her parents on a Kansas Pacific passenger train through
Smallville, Kansas, boyhood home of
Clark Kent
Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
.
See also
*
Grey Beard, Southern Cheyenne chief who fought to prevent construction of the railroad
*
Railroad land grants in the United States
*
Perry, Kansas, named after railroad president
References
Further reading
* Babbitt, James E. "From Albuquerque to Tucson in 1867: The Kansas Pacific Railway Survey Photographs of William A. Bell." ''Journal of Arizona History'' (1998): 289–306
in JSTOR* Klein, Maury. ''Union Pacific: 1862-1893'' (Vol. 1. 1987), passim.
* Petrowski, William R. ''The Kansas Pacific: a study in railroad promotion'' (Arno Press, 1981).
* Petrowski, William R. "The Kansas Pacific Railroad in the Southwest." ''Arizona and the West'' (1969): 129–146
in JSTOR* Petrowski, William R. "Kansas City to Denver to Cheyenne: Pacific Railroad Construction Costs and Profits." ''Business History Review'' 48#2 (1974): 206–224
online
Primary sources
* Leland, Charles Godfrey. ''The Union Pacific Railway, Eastern Division: or, Three thousand miles in a railway car'' (1867
online
External links
John H. McDowell Papers, 1853-1884. McDowell was part owner of the Leavenworth, Pawnee and Western Railroad Company and this collection documents the business of the railroad while he was associated with it. .44 cubic feet (processed). Finding aid compiled by Susan Wheatley
Eastern Kentucky University Special Collections and Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kansas Pacific Railway
Defunct Colorado railroads
Defunct Kansas railroads
Predecessors of the Union Pacific Railroad
Rail lines receiving land grants
Railway companies established in 1869
Railway companies disestablished in 1880
Defunct Missouri railroads
1869 establishments in Kansas