Posted 10 months ago
RVolskay
(33 items)
Right after the Civil War, promoters chartered a railroad from Kansas City, Kansas, then called Wyandotte, through Kansas City, Missouri, and into Nebraska, hoping to reach the Pacific. Due to funding difficulties, the original railroad, as built, was narrow gauge and went eastward, from KC, MO, to Lexington, Missouri. This was in violation of the charter, and they were made to reorganize, in the 1880s. It was sold at foreclosure to the Missouri Pacific, and this should’ve been the end.
Under pressure from the local towns and governments, the Missouri Pacific then funded a railroad company to build under the original charter, eventually terminating at Beatrice, Nebraska.
That this road was a bad idea was quickly proven, and it soon entered bankruptcy. It struggled onward for 20 years, dying by degrees, and, eventually, was pulled up in segments excepting for small portions, here and there, mostly around KC,KS. A few of these still remain.
This medallion, booklet, and timetable calendar were produced to promote the fledgling pike, during what purported to be its glory days, in 1889.
