Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad.
The Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad (KO) is a shortline railroad located in Kansas. Despite its name, it does not own trackage in Oklahoma.
The railroad is a subsidiary of Watco, which took over the Central Kansas Railway (CKRY) operations on June 29, 2001. That company, which included the merged Kansas Southwestern Railway, was purchased from OmniTRAX and named the Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad.
With 904 miles of track stretching north and west from its headquarters in Wichita, Kansas, to the Colorado border, the railroad carries more than 50,000 carloads annually. One of the largest single short lines in the industry, it carries diverse agricultural commodities, including grain and grain products and industrial products, such as chemicals and paper. Most of this trackage was initially operated by the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad, although the Missouri Pacific Railroad initially operated portions of the Kansas City to Pueblo main line in Western Kansas and Eastern Colorado.
The railroad has interchanges with the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway in Abilene, Hutchinson, Newton, and Wichita; with the United Pacific Railroad in Hutchinson, McPherson, Salina, and Wichita; with the Southern Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad in Wichita; and with the Colorado Pacific Railroad in Towner, Colorado.
Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad Map.
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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