Central Kansas Railway
The Central Kansas Railway (CKR) was a short-line railroad operating 900 miles of trackage in Kansas and west to Scott City, Kansas. The line was created on January 1, 1993, when the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad sold 900 miles of branchline trackage in Kansas and northern Oklahoma to the newly formed shortline.
The Kansas Southwestern Railway, a sister company that operated former Missouri Pacific Railroad branch lines in Kansas, was merged into the Central Kansas Railway in 2000. Owned by Omnitrax, Central Kansas Railway’s main business was from the Kansas wheat harvests and other traffic.
On May 31, 2001, Watco purchased all of the Central Kansas Railway’s lines and formed the Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad.
Compiled and edited by Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, October 2024.
Also See:
A Century of Railroad Building
Railroads & Depot Photo Gallery
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