Vintage Hutchinson Kansas

[leighant]

Dan Munson's web article on railfanning Hutchinson, Kansas covered the contemporary train-chasing and scanner variety of railfanning. A note or two for the historical railfan. When I was in Hutchinson 5 years ago, I found an interesting locomotive in a park on the south side of town. No, not the often-seen steamer. Hutchinson's park loco was a 1919 GE centercab electric, Hutchinson and Northern #2. Coupled to it, a Union Pacific steel cupola caboose UP #25534 with sloan "Safety is an Equal Opportunity for All". I have snapshots but I don't know if I can post them here. Don't know if these are still there. Anyone who knows might post a followup for the information of those interested in vintage electrics.
Interested in transition-era railroads in Hutchinson? Go to the archives/ documents room of the public library where there is a consultant's traffic study for the city, dating from 1960-something. Has quite a few pages on the density, time and nature of rail traffic through the city, location of rail facilities and industries in the time period, maps of rr crossings, etc. While I was in the library, I leafed through their copy of the Santa Fe "Doodlebugs" book which I had missed when it was available.

[leighant]

Dan Munson's web article on railfanning Hutchinson, Kansas covered the contemporary train-chasing and scanner variety of railfanning. A note or two for the historical railfan. When I was in Hutchinson 5 years ago, I found an interesting locomotive in a park on the south side of town. No, not the often-seen steamer. Hutchinson's park loco was a 1919 GE centercab electric, Hutchinson and Northern #2. Coupled to it, a Union Pacific steel cupola caboose UP #25534 with sloan "Safety is an Equal Opportunity for All". I have snapshots but I don't know if I can post them here. Don't know if these are still there. Anyone who knows might post a followup for the information of those interested in vintage electrics.
Interested in transition-era railroads in Hutchinson? Go to the archives/ documents room of the public library where there is a consultant's traffic study for the city, dating from 1960-something. Has quite a few pages on the density, time and nature of rail traffic through the city, location of rail facilities and industries in the time period, maps of rr crossings, etc. While I was in the library, I leafed through their copy of the Santa Fe "Doodlebugs" book which I had missed when it was available.

[ironhorseman]

That's pretty cool! It gives me another reason to go to Hutch besides the Cosmosphere (don't get me wrong, it's a great space museum - cosmo.org).

Incidently, the full article appears in the Oct. 2003 issue of Trains Magazine.

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One more thing I forgot to mention-
In the magazine they mention the Hutchinson and Northern RR which serves primarily the salt mines. They started out with electrics and dieselized with Alco switchers. Abline, Kansas now has a Hutchinson and Northern S-1 switcher on the Abilene and Smokey Valley (tourist) RR. It was built in 1945 and donated to Abilene in 1993 and remains in it's origional orange and yellow colors. For $10 you can take a ride on the train. It's located just across the street from the Eisenhower museum and library.

See www.asvrr.org for details.

[ironhorseman]

That's pretty cool! It gives me another reason to go to Hutch besides the Cosmosphere (don't get me wrong, it's a great space museum - cosmo.org).

Incidently, the full article appears in the Oct. 2003 issue of Trains Magazine.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One more thing I forgot to mention-
In the magazine they mention the Hutchinson and Northern RR which serves primarily the salt mines. They started out with electrics and dieselized with Alco switchers. Abline, Kansas now has a Hutchinson and Northern S-1 switcher on the Abilene and Smokey Valley (tourist) RR. It was built in 1945 and donated to Abilene in 1993 and remains in it's origional orange and yellow colors. For $10 you can take a ride on the train. It's located just across the street from the Eisenhower museum and library.

See www.asvrr.org for details.

[Anonymous]

I grew up in Hutch. (1943-61). I remember a center cab engine that ran just south of 4th and Loraine St. It seems like it ran from there back to the east in the direction of the salt mines. There was also a really nice opearting amusement park type live steam engine that ran at Carey Park in the early 50's. I remember it as a 4-6 Hudson or similar. Would love to have it now.

[Anonymous]

I grew up in Hutch. (1943-61). I remember a center cab engine that ran just south of 4th and Loraine St. It seems like it ran from there back to the east in the direction of the salt mines. There was also a really nice opearting amusement park type live steam engine that ran at Carey Park in the early 50's. I remember it as a 4-6 Hudson or similar. Would love to have it now.