Passenger Rail Service in Pratt County
Rock Island
Santa Fe
Missouri Pacific
Wichita Northwestern
Rock Island
Shown in black on this map
Main Line to Tucumcari
The biggest rail line in Pratt County was the Rock Island. In fact, Pratt was a division point where crews changed. This was one of the Rock Island's main lines. It connected Chicago (and Minneapolis, MN) with Tucumcari where the Southern Pacific took passengers to California.
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
Shown in red on this map
Wichita Branch
The Santa Fe started out as a main line and then added branches. I guess that's the reason they named the branches for where they left the main lines instead of where the branches led. Personally, I'd call this line the Pratt Branch, but the 1906 timetable clearly calls it the Wichita Branch. Anyway, it's the line from Wichita to Kingman to Pratt that ends at the south end of Pratt. You can trace this development by looking at timetables for this line for the following dates:
Englewood Branch
The Santa Fe had another line in Pratt County. It crossed the southern part of the county, coming from Isabel to Sawyer to Coats and heading toward Belvidere and on the Coldwater, Protection and ending at Englewood.
You can trace this development by looking at timetables for this line for the following dates:
Missouri Pacific
Shown in blue on this map
Southeast Kansas to Larned and Iuka
The MoPac had a line from southeast Kansas that crossed another of its lines at Conway Springs and then headed northwest toward Larned. In northwestern Kingman County, at a place called Olcott, another branch left this line and headed west through Preston and ending at Iuka. This line did once have at least mixed train service.
You can see service on this line for the following dates:
Wichita Northwestern
Not shown on this map
During the 1930's, another rail line served Pratt County. It went from Pratt to Byers and then to Trousdale and on to Kinsley. A branch line went north to Larned. I am trying to obtain a timetable from this line and would appreciate it if you could help in this search.
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