The Kansas City, Leavenworth and Western Railway was an electrified interurban trolley which in its final form ran about 26 miles from

Leavenworth, Kansas Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 37,351. It is located on the west bank of t ...

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

. Its original version was created in 1900, and it continued in one form or another until 1938.

History

The company began operating January 16, 1900 as the Kansas City-Leavenworth Railway. Starting from Leavenworth (then the 4th largest city in Kansas), it ran southeast through

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...

. It also passed through the Wolcott community, renamed from Connor or Connor City in honor of H.W. (Herbert) Wolcott, an official of the railway. The headquarters, powerhouse, car barn and repair shops for the railway were all located at Wolcott. Finally, the line terminated in

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of the ...

, where it met the tracks of the Metropolitan Street Railway on Central Avenue. About 40 stops in total were possible on the line, with some in villages, some at intersections, and some at schools. The ride took about an hour, and a round trip over the entire route was just over one dollar. Service ran every hour beginning at 5:15 am and ending at 10:15 pm, operated by five cars. In late 1904, the line arranged to have its cars go directly into Kansas City, Missouri across the river, with that part of the route operated by the Metropolitan Street Railway and costing an extra nickel. At that time, the line extended from Third and Delaware in Leavenworth to Eighth Street and Grand Avenue in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, about 26 miles. The line was sold in March 1905, and was renamed as the Kansas City Western Railway. While a projected spur to Topeka never happened, the line in the 1910s was busy enough to average 1.2 million passengers a year. Further, freight-hauling services were added to the mix, the principal cargo being milk carried to creameries in Kansas City. The line entered bankruptcy in 1920 and emerged on February 17 of that year as the Kansas City, Leavenworth and Western Railway. It did well enough to keep operating through freight revenue, commuters, schoolchildren, and other riders. The line was hurt by the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, but usage held up until late into the 1930s. However, in 1938, the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

acquired a large tract of land in Wyandotte County with the intention to create the Wyandotte County Lake and picnic ground. It was discovered that the trolley tracks traversed this area, and the county condemned the right-of-way. The company could not afford to reroute the tracks or bridge the water feature; so, it declared bankruptcy and abandoned its whole line. Its last day of operation was March 31, 1938. After that, it reorganized as the Kansas City & Leavenworth Transportation Company to provide bus service between Kansas City and Leavenworth, closely following the old trolley route. But that entity too went bankrupt, in 1951.

References

{{Missouri railroads Kansas railroads Missouri railroads