Garden City Western Railway
The Garden City Western Railway operates in southwest Kansas with the reporting mark GCW.
The Garden City Western Railroad was built in 1915 by the Garden City Sugar and Land Company of Garden City, Kansas. Its officials were J. Stewart, president; Spencer Penrose, vice-president; F.A. Gillispie, secretary-treasurer; and W.B. Benson, general freight agent.
Sugar beet factory in Garden City, Kansas, by Francis Marion Steele, about 1905.
The road was initially 14 miles long, running northwesterly from the Sugar Factory at Garden City, through farmland held by the Garden City Sugar and Land Company. It was constructed to care for the products of Garden City Sugar and Land Company’s landholdings.
Early on, it primarily served the beet and alfalfa district. However, it later expanded following a significant increase in wheat acreage in the northwest part of Finney County. By 1930, the railway shipped many carloads of grain every year, and there were three principal stations or loading points on this line. In addition to beet and alfalfa loading equipment, Wolfe Station had a 15,000-bushel-capacity elevator owned by Tom Daniels of Deerfield. At Lowe Station, the Everly Grain Company had a 15,000-bushel elevator. This point also had large stockyards and a grocery store. Peterson also had a beet-loading station.
The Garden City Western Railway was sold to the Garden City Coop, Inc. in 1982. On September 1, 1991, the Garden City Northern Railway merged with the Garden City Western Railway. It was sold again to Pioneer Railcorp on April 29, 1999. At that time, its primary commodities included grain, frozen beef, fertilizer, farm implements, feed products, and utility poles.
The Garden City Western Railway continues to operate in southwest Kansas today with 52 miles of tracks. It interchanges with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad in Garden City.
An old Garden City Western Railway steam locomotive and coal tender are displayed in a park in Garden City, Kansas, by Carol Highsmith.
A Garden City Western Railway steam locomotive is currently on static display at the Lee Richardson Zoo in Garden City, behind the Snack/Gift Shop and across the Drive-In Entrance/Kiosk.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, updated December 2025.
Also See:
Sources:
Blanchard, Leola Howard; The Conquest of Southwest Kansas, Wichita Eagle Press, 1931.
Silk Stocking Row Historic District
Wikipedia