[CBQ] Perhaps the last on Forker

["smokyjoe66" <js08ws62@sbcglobal.net>]

As is typical of these small things, they seem to go on, and on. Learned 
another interesting tidbit about Forker this afternoon at McDonald's. (I admit 
this may have been alluded to before.) During the surveying/land acquisition 
phase of the Kansas City cut-off project a large farm owner (Fred Miller) near 
Forker, upon learning the new line was to go across his property, did some 
novel negotiating on his own. In exchange for a little less money, he wanted an 
8-10 car spur track constructed for his exclusive use 1/4 mile south of the 
Forker depot. The railroad agreed, the spur was built on the west side of the 
new cutoff, and thereafter known among train crews as "Miller's spur". It was 
an "open-ended" spur to the north, and had to be served by locomotives facing 
South. The Miller farm used it to receive and ship livestock, and ship grain. 
For Miller this turned out to be a good deal because of the substantial savings 
he realized on truck shipping costs. This continued until Mr. Miller's death 
more than a decade later. The spur was later removed at the request of 
subsequent owners of the former Miller farm. ~ John A. Swearingen,  Brookfield, 
Missouri. 




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