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Kansas City, Kaw Valley & Western Railway collection

 Collection
Call Number: RH MS 18

Overview

The Kansas City, Kaw Valley & Western Railway was an interurban rail line with electric car service between downtown Kansas City, Missouri and Lawrence, Kansas. The collection contains scattered records of the railway's operation, including correspondence, operational cost data, freight charge receipts, accident reports for the line during its most prosperous years, maps and architectural drawings, and an honor's thesis by John W. Florin on the history of the railway line.

Dates

  • Creation: 1906-1958, 1964

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

No access restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Spencer Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials.

History of Kansas City, Kaw Valley & Western Railway.

The Kansas City, Kaw Valley & Western Railway was an interurban rail line with electric car service between downtown Kansas City, Missouri and Lawrence, Kansas. Under the direction of J.J. Heim and W.R. Taylor, superintendent, the line opened in 1914 between Kansas City and Bonner Springs, KS, and in 1916 the line was extended to Lawrence. The line had 75 passenger station stops, and trains left Kansas City hourly between 5:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Passengers included Kansas City and Kaw Valley commuters, students at the University of Kansas, occasional shoppers, and others.

Passenger service gradually declined during the 1920s, and by August 1935 the line was a year behind in paying employees. 1935 was the last year for interurban runs between Kansas City and City Park, and in the summer buses replaced the electric motorcars. Freight runs kept the line alive from the 1930s to 1961 (chiefly loads for Portland Cement Company).

Extent

1 Linear Feet (2 document cases + 1 volume, 6 oversize folders)

Language of Materials

English

Physical Location

RH MS 18

Physical Location

RH AD R30

Physical Location

RH MS D82

Other Finding Aids

Nucmc: MS 80-376

Separated Materials

Gallup Map Company. "Kansas City, Kaw Valley and Western Railraod Company and Proposed Extension." Kansas City, Mo.: [undated]. Located at Kenneth Spencer Research Library at RH Map R89.

Kansas City, Kaw Valley and Western Railroad Company. "Map Showing lines of the Kanas City, Kaw Valley & Western Railway Company and Connections in Kansas." [Kansas City, Mo?]: Woodward Engraving Company, [undated]. Located at Spencer Research Library at RH Map R157.

Title
Guide to the Kansas City, Kaw Valley & Western Railway Collection
Subtitle
Kansas City, Kaw Valley & Western Railway collection
Author
Finding aid prepared by pg, May 1976. Finding aid encoded by mg, 2004. Finding aid revised by mwh, 2017.
Date
2004
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Finding aid writtenin<language> English.</language>
Finding aid permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/10407/8805460798
Preferred citation
Kaw Valley & Western Railway Collection, Kansas Collection, RH MS 18, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas

Repository Details

Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository

Contact:
1450 Poplar Lane
Lawrence KS 66045-7616 United States
785-864-4334