There are a number of 1869 railroad maps if you do a quick internet
search. Searching on Kansas Pacific will yield you a 1869 map which was
the westernmost railroad out of Kansas City.
One thing to keep in mind is at that time it was not clear where the
next western jumping off point over the Missouri River would be after
Omaha-Council Bluffs. Some thought it would be St. Joseph MO as the
Hannibal and St. Joe had already reached there earlier the decade. Some
others thought it would be Leavenworth KS where the army post was or
Atchison KS (namesake of the AT&SF chartered in 1859). This uncertainty
led to both Atchison and Leavenworth being served by 5-6 railroads each
despite each being around 10-15,000 people at the time. Kansas City was
just another one of the players. Since the Missouri River was bridged
first at Kansas City, that helped make Kansas City the rail hub of the
area. Even then, it took 20-30 years for the result to be clear. All the
three points north of Kansas City all had rail bridges built after the
Hannibal Bridge with the last new rail bridge built across the Missouri
River at Leavenworth in the early 1890s.
Historical fortune smiled on the Burlington. The Rock Island chose to
make St. Joseph their main crossing point across the Missouri River to
Colorado. They then needed to remedy this later using trackage rights
into and leaving Kansas City and a new cutoff route across southeastern
Nebraska to reach Colorado.
Bill Hirt
On 4/3/2021 8:29 AM, orderlypackrat@gmail.com wrote:
Thank you Mr. Hirt and Mr. Lotz. The 1872 date is the link I was
missing; it gets no fanfare :)
May I entreat you with one follow-up question (for anyone watching in
the know)?
How far and were did rails go from Kansas City on July 4, 1869? I
can't find a good map or description.
I'm hoping to ascertain if that *first bridge across the Missouri
River* (secured after a long, fierce battle between river towns)
accomplished something critical THAT DAY, or if it was the key to what
would BECOME...or BOTH.._,_._,_
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