Florence, El Dorado, and Walnut Valley Railroad

The Florence, El Dorado, and Walnut Valley Railroad was a short-line railroad in central Kansas.

History

In 1877, the Florence, El Dorado, and Walnut Valley Railroad Company built a branch line from Florence to El Dorado. In 1881, it was extended to Douglass, and later to Arkansas City.^[1] In 1901, the line was leased and operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, which used the name "Florence & Arkansas City Division" for it.^[2]

The line from Florence to El Dorado was abandoned in 1942^[3]^[4] to reclaim the metal rails for the war effort during World War II because of a shortage of materials during those years.

Currently, the remaining part of the former Florence, El Dorado, and Walnut Valley Railroad that still exists is:^[5]

El Dorado to Arkansas City.

Stations

At a high-level, the railroad connected the primary cities of Florence (north end), El Dorado, Augusta, Winfield, Arkansas City (south end).

Marion County

Florence (north end)
Hampson, station ^[6]
Burns

Butler County

Alki, station
De Graff
El Dorado
Augusta
Douglass

Cowley County

Rock
Akron, station ^[7]
Winfield
Arkansas City (south end)

References

^ Marion County Kansas : Past and Present; Sondra Van Meter; MB Publishing House; LCCN 72-92041; 344 pages; 1972.
^ Florence & Arkansas City Division in Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History; Standard Publishing Co; 805 pages; 1912.
^ Railway Abandonment 1942
^ "Burns Suffers From Stopped Rail Service, page 7; Peabody Gazette-Bulletin; 8 pages; October 8, 1942". Archived from the original on 2014-05-21. Retrieved 2014-05-21.
^ Kansas Railroad Map; KDOT.
^ Hampson in Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History; Standard Publishing Co; 805 pages; 1912.
^ Akron in Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History; Standard Publishing Co; 805 pages; 1912.