Chartered as the Kansas City & Emporia Railroad Company. Incorporated in Kansas, December 11,1880. Consolidated April 16, 1885 into Southern Kansas Railway Company. Sold to the Santa Fe Railway Company, February 15, 1899.
This line was built by C.S. Beedle as Chief Engineer, under A.A. Robinson, Chief Engineer. H.B. Alexander, Contractor, who started the grading December 18, 1882. Track laying was started April 10, 1883. Connected at North Ottawa, January 21, 1884, 3:00 P.M.
Road turned over to Southern Kansas Railway, February 1, 1884. Telegraph line, Emporia to North Ottawa, finished January 31, 1884. The Southern Kansas Railway Company turned it back to the construction department, November 1, 1886. They turned it back to Operating Department (Eastern Division), August 1, 1887. Lewis Kingman, Asst. Chief Engineer, J.L. Barnes, Superintendent
At Melvern there was a big change of line made in 1905. Woodbury Howe, relocated it, J.W. Sterritt, Engineer in Charge, followed by J.H. Snow, who finished the work August 27, 1906. This change commenced about a mile east of Melvern and went to a point about one mile west of Olivet, where we intersected the old main line. We abandoned the old main line east of Melvern, except through the yard, and left the old line down west of Melvern. As the grade was favorable for east bound trains, the new line (double track) Melvern to Olivet, got as far away as 1.1 miles from the old line. One and one-half miles east of Neosho Rapids, we made another change of line, Seeley McCoy located it. Built under W.I. Aldrich. W.B. Storey, Chief Engineer. This line went south of the old line and got as far as 0.4 miles away from the same. West of Quenemo we reduced a 6-degree curve to a 3-degree when the double track was built in 1905. All of the double track, North Ottawa to Emporia Jct. was built at different times in 1903, 1904, 1905 and 1906 and short stretches opened as fast as finished.
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