Emporia, Kansas – Yard and Locomotive Facilities (Compiled by Steve Sandifer) Emporia, Kansas (Compiled by Steve Sandifer) Emporia, Kansas, was a major hub on the Santa Fe. Every westbound from Kansas City ran through here. In the eastern part of town, the line from Topeka and the Ottawa cut-off come together at Emporia Jct. West about 15 miles at Ellinor, the main lines split with one headed to Newton, La Junta, and Raton while the southern route went to Wellington, Amarillo, Clovis, and Belen. However, despite its critical location, Emporia played second fiddle to Topeka with its car and engine shops, Argentine with the largest yard on the system, and Newton and Wellington to the west. Kansas had many branch lines serving the agricultural and ranching communities. Emporia was the hub for branch lines radiating through Strong City to Abilene and Osborne, Barnard and Superior (NE), south through the flint hills to Eldorado, north to Burlingame and Alma, and the Howard Branch to Moline and Virgil, and originally to Chanute through Benedict. In the 2000 census, Emporia claimed 26,760 residents. James Burke Map Emporia, Kansas – Yard and Locomotive Facilities (Compiled by Steve Sandifer) Our tour of Emporia will be divided into Depots Industries of Emporia several pages: Freight Depot West Emporia Interstate Lead Yard Motor Car Building Along the main line Westbound Yard REA Building The Katy Connection Eastbound Yard Passenger Depot Traffic reports Local Yard Harvey House Unresolved questions and photo needs Stock Yard Towers Sources Engine Facilities Merrick Tower This document covers the yard and Emporia Jct. Tower loco facilities. Additional documents Yard Office/Tower on this website cover the other areas. 9/1/73 map Emporia, Kansas – Yard and Locomotive Facilities (Compiled by Steve Sandifer) Emporia: Yard Overview This postcard from the Wichita State University, University Libraries, Department of Special Collections. Yard view is pre-1928 rebuild. Emporia Yard was a massive sight at one time. Of course, it has undergone many changes through the years. A major rebuilding took place in 1928 which included all new engine facilities. In 1950 it had an eastbound, westbound, and local yard as well as a stockyard which was a major feeding station on the railroad. The yard had a capacity of 4986 cars with the longest track holding 444 cars. The roundhouse had 30 stalls covering 200 degrees and was one of the most modern on the system. A good crew would average sorting 800 cars per engine per shift (Rod Riley). The sheep portion of the stockyard was the first to cease and finally all stock servicing by the early 70s. The roundhouse became storage and a portion was leased out. It was gone by 1990. The Eastbound yard was removed in the 80s. To see this progression, look at some of the track plans on the following pages. Emporia, Kansas – Yard and Locomotive Facilities (Compiled by Steve Sandifer) 1950 Track Plan Emporia, Kansas – Yard and Locomotive Facilities (Compiled by Steve Sandifer) 1968 Track Plan Emporia, Kansas – Yard and Locomotive Facilities (Compiled by Steve Sandifer) 1973 Track Plan Emporia, Kansas – Yard and Locomotive Facilities (Compiled by Steve Sandifer) 1977 CLIC Book Emporia, Kansas – Yard and Locomotive Facilities (Compiled by Steve Sandifer) 1990 Track Plan Emporia, Kansas – Yard and Locomotive Facilities (Compiled by Steve Sandifer) 2000 CLIC Book Emporia, Kansas – Yard and Locomotive Facilities (Compiled by Steve Sandifer) Most California trains ran through Emporia. Most Texas trains were yarded. Others were re-blocked. "Emporia never had an ATSF ice rack. Waynoka, OK had an icing rack. The reefer trains would stop there and be re-iced before moving east. Sand Creek yard (Newton) had a smaller ice rack. When I first started in 1965, we would sometimes get express cars that had strawberries in them. We would switch them off No. 4, take the cars to Sand Creek, ice them, take them back uptown and put them on No. 8. During the late summer months, we would get EX639 trains from Wellington. These were generally cars with grapes. They were loaded but had not been sold yet. We would ice these cars, then store them in the yard. Usually they were gone within 24 hours after icing." Gary Rich. In the middle of the yard was a scale track which operated most of the day and into the night. Most of the cars coming off the branches that spidered Emporia had to be weighed. In the steam days, Armour had no scale track, so all their cars had to be weighed in and out. Emporia, Kansas – Yard and Locomotive Facilities (Compiled by Steve Sandifer) Emporia: Westbound Yard 1950 track plan The Westbound Yard contained 19 tracks. It generally re-blocked and filled trains for Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and California. 1977 CLIC book Between 1977 and 1990, the Eastbound yard was removed, and the Westbound yard became the yard for Emporia. Emporia, Kansas – Yard and Locomotive Facilities (Compiled by Steve Sandifer) Emporia: Eastbound Yard 1990 Track Plan The Eastbound Yard consisted of 14 tracks and was generally used for re-blocking or filling trains for Kansas City (mostly), Fort Madison (occasionally) and Chicago (less). Trains left the main at Merrick tower and the switches on the west end were controlled by Merrick. This produced its name, the electric lead. From 1977 CLIC book This yard was removed between 1983 and 1990 and its function combined with the former Westbound yard. Emporia, Kansas – Yard and Locomotive Facilities (Compiled by Steve Sandifer) Emporia: Local Yard 1950 track plan Local freights were made up here for runs from Emporia to Salina, St. Joseph via Topeka, Topeka turn, Howard District, and Arkansas City via El Dorado, Augusta, and Winfield. It also served Emporia customers. By the 70s these tracks were changed to storage. 1977 CLIC book. MP 114 should read 113. Emporia, Kansas – Yard and Locomotive Facilities (Compiled by Steve Sandifer) Emporia: Stock Yards Original stockyard. Postcard view, no date, Wichita State University, University Libraries, Department of Special Collections TerraServer image shows the remains of the 1929 yard. Emporia, Kansas – Yard and Locomotive Facilities (Compiled by Steve Sandifer) From 1950 track plan. By 1973, the sheep portion was gone, and the operation scaled down substantially. Rail shipments of stock had ceased. Emporia, Kansas – Yard and Locomotive Facilities (Compiled by Steve Sandifer) 1952 photo from grain elevator, sheep section in foreground. Walter Anderson collection. Overlooking sheep barns and unloading chutes. Walter Anderson Collection. Emporia, Kansas – Yard and Locomotive Facilities (Compiled by Steve Sandifer) Emporia was a major feeding station on the ATSF. Livestock shipped by rail had to be unloaded, fed, and exercised every 28 hours by federal law, but that could be extended to 36 hours with a waiver. Emporia was set up for this purpose. A large number of cars heading east would be pulled from their trains at Emporia and set out at the stockyard to allow the stock to rest before continuing on another freight. Two major stock yards have been built by the Santa Fe in Emporia. The original yard was replaced in 1928. The "new" roundhouse and locomotive service tracks were built where the former stock yard and car shops had been located. The resulting new stock yard was one of the most modern on the system. The Santa Fe had 7500 stock cars in 1948 and handled nearly 89,000 carloads of stock that year, down from 127,000 in 1946. Carloads remained healthy until 1959 when it began a steady decline. Its facilities in the southwest side of the yard at one time included the capacity of 175 stock cars. It included 66 pens, 20 covered, concrete floors and alleys, water trough and hydrants, feed racks in each pen, 25 chutes, 25 pockets, 20-ton hoof scale, track chute, and had flood lights (F. Lt. P.) for daily 24-hour operation. There were also 2 hay barns with capacity of 1000 tons, offices, and stockman's room (The Warbonnet, 7:3). There were car loading chutes on each side of the yard, with three parallel tracks on each side. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA/OWI Collection. Emporia sheep yards had capacity for 200 double deck or 294 single deck cars. It boasted 80 pens, 3 barns with water troughs, hydrants, self-feeders, and salt boxes, double deck chutes, 29 double deck pockets, 10-man electric sheep shearing plant, 70-ton wool storage, 400-ton alfalfa storage, 57,750 bushel grain elevator, electric grain grinder and feed mixer, and had concrete alleys, dirt floors, and a 20-ton hoof scale. When Jack Delano visited in March 1943, he reported 40,000 sheep in residence. The two tracks closest to the pens were used for loading and unloading while the outside tracks was for cleaning and disinfecting the cars for reuse. Up to four inches of Emporia, Kansas – Yard and Locomotive Facilities (Compiled by Steve Sandifer) sand would be used to cover the floor of these cars and hay was added to cars hauling hogs. This soiled cover had to be removed and discarded and new fill added. Caswell gons were regulars in sand service. In the middle of the yard by the waycar track was a drover track. Modelers of Emporia during this era will want to include drover's cars in their collection. Also, until around 1970, a specific waycar (caboose) was assigned to a specific conductor. "The Santa Fe had chain gangs not pools. Every conductor in the chain gang had a waycar assigned to him. These needed to be switch out at every terminal. The Emporia yard was protected by Eastern Division switchmen.