When we think of the Santa Fe we often think of it in terms of the Super Chief or Super fleet and forget that there is much more to the great history of this company. With the end of the Santa Fe as an independent corporation near I began studying the beginnings. I found it to be a very interesting and amazing peace of the story of the Santa Fe. Think of the Santa Fe as a 27 mile coal hauling short line like the East Broad Top but smaller. One could model the entire Santa Fe even in one of the larger scales down to the last car and locomotive. This would make for a very interesting and unique model railroad. I hope you will enjoy as I have in researching it my chronology of the first 10 years of the history of the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Rail Road (Railway) Company.

The History of the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railway

The Beginning 1859 - 1869

The hopes and dreams for a Railroad from Atchison to Topeka and on toward Santa Fe took their first tangible form with the February 11, 1859 charter issued by the Kansas Territorial legislature for the Atchison and Topeka Rail road Company. Formal organization under the charter took place between September 15 and 17, 1860 in Atchison. The venture remained dormant while means to finance the ventures were explored.. On March 3, 1863 a land grant bill was signed by President Lincoln providing "every alternate section of land, designated by odd numbers, for ten sections in width one each side " of the railroad through the Neosho valley provided the railroad was completed and in operation to the Kansas-Colorado line by March 3, 1873. The name of the company was changed to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Rail Road Company on November 24, 1863.. On October 12, 1867 a contract was let for construction of the railroad to a construction firm.. Federal approval of the Pottawatomie tribe treaty July 25, 1868 allowed the company to purchase the 340,000 acres of unoccupied Indian lands at $1 an acre with six years to pay for an interest charge of 6% . The sale of these lands helped to finance the early construction of the railroad. The construction firm failed to even begin construction in part due to a dispute over control of the Santa Fe Rail Road. With the associates of C. K. Holliday back in control the construction contract was assigned in 1868 to the firm of Dodge, Lord & Co. This firm made Thomas J. Peter, former city engineer of Cincinnati, Ohio, and a member of the firm, the assignee of the contract.

The Santa Fe Rail Road took physical form October 30, 1868 following the official first shovel full of dirt thrown. First order of business was to build a bridge across the Kaw river between the Kansas Pacific (now Union Pacific) at North Topeka and Topeka. This work commenced in October 1868 and consisted of 3 - 150 foot Howe Trusses and pile trestle approaches on each end for a total length of 1,400ā. The first rail was laid March 23, 1869 at North Topeka where a connection was made with the Kansas Pacific at their depot across Kansas Avenue. Mr. George Beach of the Kansas Pacific delivered the Santa Feās first locomotive and was hired as the Santa Feās first engineer. The Kaw River Bridge was finished March 30, 1869 when the Santa Feās first train was run across the bridge to Topeka. The first train consisted of Locomotive number one (first number one see story about three number ones) the C. K. Holliday and several cars of railroad iron. In addition to the locomotive the Santa Feās total equipment roster included 6 flat cars and a hand car. On April 26, 1869 the Santa Fe ran its first excursion train to end of track at Cottonwood Grove 7 miles from the river with the number one and two borrowed passenger cars.

In May 15, 1869 the Osage Chronicle reported that the Santa Fe Rail road was very active with its one locomotive making three round trips a day with construction material to end of track near Wakarusa. On June 16, 1869 the Santa Feās roster of rolling stock doubled with the delivery of 6 flat cars, a passenger coach and an express / baggage car. The delivery of the passenger equipment allowed for the running of the Santa Feās second passenger train the June 18, 1869 excursion to the end of track two miles into Osage county, about 15 miles from Topeka.

The Santa Fe advertised its first scheduled service beginning with the June 25, 1869 Topeka Kansas Daily Commonwealth.

A. T. & S. F. R. R. TIMETABLE.

SUPERINTENDENTāS OFFICE A. T. & S. F. R. R.

TOPEKA, June 23, 1869

The above rail road will be opened for business on Monday, June 28th, 1869, between Topeka and Carbondale, at which point trains connect with stages for Burlingame and Emporia. Trains will run daily (except Sundays) as follows: Mixed train leaves Topeka at 6:15 a. m., arriving at Carbondale, 7:45 a. m. Passenger leaves Carbondale 10:10 a. m. Arrives at Topeka 11:30 a. m. And connects with east and west trains on Kansas Pacific. Returning leaves Topeka at 1:00 p. m. Arriving at Carbondale 2:00 p. m. Mixed train leaves Carbondale 4:00 p. m. Arriving at Topeka 5:45 p. m.

T. J. PETER, Supt.

Carbondale was a fresh new town founded by the Associates responsible for the building and the financing of the Santa Fe. The coal mine that opened on the arrival of the Santa Fe was also in the hands of the Associates. The mining operation in fact was key to the financing of the early construction of the Santa Fe, providing an early return for the investors as well as money to continue construction. Carbondale coal was a fair quality bituminous coal. The coal was mined from shafts generally 30 to 40 feet deep. Thickness of the coal was usually 18 to 20 inches. To accommodate the men to mine the coal the Santa Fe built a boarding house capable of accommodating 60 miners.

The Santa Fe thus started business as an 18 mile short line passenger and coal carrier. The railroads primary freight business was hauling coal for $10 dollars a car load to the Kansas Pacific at North Topeka for that road's locomotive fuel. In addition there was some domestic coal for Topeka and the passenger and miscellaneous freight traffic. The Topeka Kansas Daily Commonwealth reported August 21, 1869 that the earnings of the road for July were from passengers $939.20 and from freight $745.94. At ten dollars a car that would mean roughly 3 cars of freight a day. The mine at Carbondale was just getting started and was projected to be able to produce up to 50 cars a day. To handle this growing business the Santa Fe ordered itās second locomotive, twelve box cars, twenty coal cars, a passenger coaches and Baggage car. The second locomotive was delivered to the Santa Feās representative Allen Burroughs, on August 11, 1869.

Locomotive number 2 (first number 2) was purchased from the Rhode Island Locomotive works in Providence about the middle of June, 1869. "It was named Gen. Burnside after the Civil War general, Ambrose E. Burnside, who was governor of Rhode Island, an officer of the locomotive works which manufactured it, and a stockholder in the Santa Fe as well as in the construction company building the road". The number two a 4-4-0 like number one cost $11,500. First number two was quite a contrast to first number one. Number two weighted in at only 26 1/2 tons in comparison to number ones 30 tons. It was reported that Number two had to get a running start to make it up the Wakarusa hill with four or five cars. This was a problem since the Santa Feās water supply for the locomotives was the Wakarusa river at the bottom of the hill. Fuel for number two was wood, which complicated the fuel situation, as number one was a coal burner. One wonders what influence Mr. Burnside had in selecting number 2?

The Santa Fe employed to operate the railroad in August 1869: Conductor, Wm. Fagan; Engineer, Geo. E. Beach; Fireman, Britt Craft; Brakeman, Wm Bartling, Albert Dugan; Stage Agent, Geo. Draper; Express Messenger, J. Eager; Newsboy, William Beach. The Santa Fe was already a family organization as William Beach the newsboy was the son of the George Beach the Engineer. Last names on the payrolls of the 1870ās suggest that as much as half the work force was related to at least one other Santa Fe employee. In the Office at Topeka were T. J. Peter, Superintendent, M. L. Sargent, Paymaster, E. S. Safford, Engineer and C. W. Hayes, agent.

Burlingame, a long established Santa Fe trail town, was reached September 18, 1869 by the Santa Fe Rail Road. The oldest town in Osage County and one of the oldest towns in Kansas, Burlingame was incorporated in 1855. Railroad construction took a breather for the winter, leaving the Santa Fe at the end of the year with 28 miles of main track. Delivery of 12 Boxcars 28ā long, 7ā3" wide and 8ā 6" high (less trucks) built by Cambridge delivery took place in November. This made the Santa Feās total roster at the end of the year twelve flat cars, twenty coal cars, 12 boxcars, two passenger coaches, one express/baggage car, one baggage car and two locomotives and one hand car.

Structures

At the end of the year 1869 the Santa Fe Railway had three depots. The Topeka depot was a combination depot and general office building. Located between Fourth and Fifth streets, the topeka depot measured 78ā x 30ā overall. The North end of the building consisted of a 28ā x 30ā office waiting room section of two stories. First floor was eleven feet high and devoted to two passenger waiting rooms 15ā x 18ā and the agentās office 30ā x 12ā south of the waiting rooms. The 10ā high second floor was reached by stairs in the freight section of the building and consisted of three offices and a hall. The hall led to the paymasters office 14ā x 15ā at the end. To the right of the hall was the superintendentās office 26ā x 15ā and to the left was the engineersā office 13ā x 11ā. The baggage and freight departments were in a 50ā x 30ā ell to the main building. Photographs of the building show the freight section after a second floor had been added. The description of the building when built reports the freight section as having a very high single story. One wonders if the freight section was built as high as shown in the photographs originally to allow for the addition of a second floor inside as shown by later photographs, or if the freight sections roof was raised to accommodate the second floor offices.

The other two depots were at Carbondale and Burlingame. These two structures appear to be mirror images of each other . The Burlingame depot 192ā x 20ā x 14ā survived until demolished in June 1997, and was, along with a portion of the Carbondale depot the oldest surviving Santa Fe depot. The freight section of the Carbondale Depot still exists as a farm storage building near Burlingame, and now is the oldest surviving piece of a Santa Fe depot. Plans and two photos of the Burlingame depot are included in Frank M. Ellingtonās book Santa Fe Depots of the Plains.

In addition to the three depots, Carbondale boarding house the Santa Fe is believed to have built in 1869 an engine house at Topeka. This 8 or 9 stall structure was built of stone. Information about this structure is scarce the only known picture of it was taken during its demolition and is opposite page 134 of the original, 1920 G. D. Bradley book The Story of the Santa Fe and also in The Santa Fe in Topeka by the Shawnee County Historical Society on page 98.