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8 unusual facts about Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway


Abilene Trail

In the year 1872, Wichita was in possession of the trade that Abilene had enjoyed for several years prior due to the completion of the Santa Fe railroad.

Dining car

By the mid-1880s, dedicated dining cars were a normal part of long-distance trains from Chicago to points west, save those of the Santa Fe Raiilway, which relied on America's first interstate network of restaurants to feed passengers en route.

John Riley Banister

Between 1889 and 1892, Banister accepted special assignments as a detective for the Santa Fe and other railroads.

Mexican Central Railway

Incorporated in Massachusetts in 1880, it opened the main line in March 1884, linking Mexico City to Ciudad Juárez, across the Rio Grande from El Paso and connections to the Southern Pacific Railroad, Texas and Pacific Railway, and Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.

On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe

"On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" is a popular song which refers to the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway (AT&SF).

Peach Springs, Arizona

Peach Springs is located on the route of the former Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (now the BNSF Railway) and on historic US Route 66.

Tren del Sur

The 40-ton Plymouth's are all painted in a direct mirror of the old Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway red and silver Warbonnet scheme, including the yellow Santa Fe "cigar band" logo with the railroad's name painted within it.

U.S. Route 350

It then continues the rest of its length along a route chosen by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, and close to the Mountain Branch of the Santa Fe Trail.


Atchison County Community High School

Atchison County Community High School is a fully accredited public high school located in Effingham, Kansas, serving students in grades 7-12.

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Passenger and Freight Complex Historic District

Plans backed by Senator Tom Harkin and Representative David Loebsack call for the station to be reopened and the newer Amtrak station to be closed, and for the station to be restored with interpretive displays.

ATSF 3460 class

The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway's 3460 class comprised six 4-6-4 "Hudson" type steam locomotives built in 1937 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for service between La Junta, Colorado and Chicago, Illinois, a fairly flat division of the railroad suited for the 4-6-4 type.

Braman, Oklahoma

In that year, the Kansas and Southeastern Railroad (which was bought by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad in 1899, built a track from Hunnewell, Kansas to Braman.

California Limited

The line was conceived by company president Allen Manvel as a means to "signify completion of the basic Santa Fe system." Manvel felt he could attract business and enhance the prestige of the railroad with daily first-class service from Chicago to the West Coast.

California Southern Railroad

Among the organizers were Frank Kimball, a prominent landowner and rancher from San Diego who also represented the Chamber of Commerce and the Board of City Trustees of San Diego, Kidder, Peabody & Co., one of the main financial investment companies involved in the Santa Fe, B.P. Cheney, L.G. Pratt, George B. Wilbur and Thomas Nickerson who was president of the Santa Fe.

Cameron, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri was able to convince the railroad to bypass its rivals in St. Joseph, Leavenworth, Kansas, Atchison, Kansas and Parkville, Missouri to create the "Cameron Branch" of the railroad.

David B. Jones Special

The David B. Jones Special was a one-time, passenger train operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway from Los Angeles, California to Chicago, Illinois at the request of David Benton Jones.

David Rice Atchison

Although it is not recognized as such by the U.S Government, it opened in February 2006 as the Atchison County Historical Museum in Atchison, Kansas.

Doug Atchison

It was reported in 2012 that Atchison is attached to direct a movie about the hockey player Derek Sanderson.

Dry county

Even prior to Amtrak, when the Santa Fe Railway's Super Chief passed through, the bar closed for the duration of the transit, but the alcohol stayed on board.

Francis Johannes

After graduating from St. Benedict's College at Atchison, Kansas in 1892, he attended St. Francis Seminary in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Frederick Walker Pitkin

During his two terms as Governor, he dealt with a number of crises including the railway feud involving the Atchison, Topeka-Santa Fe, and the Denver-Rio Grande rail companies.

George Magoun

George C. Magoun (1840-1893), Chairman of the Board of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway

Henry Lord

Henry C. Lord (1824–1884), president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway

Intermittent Inductive Automatic Train Stop

Only the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe choose to fully equip its Chicago to Los Angeles and Los Angeles to San Diego main lines in support of the Super Chief and other premier high speed trains.

James M. McCoy

He entered the U.S. Air Force in January 1951 after attending St. Benedict's College in Atchison and St. Ambrose College in Davenport, Iowa.

Jamie Mueller

Mueller played college football at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas where he was a two-time NAIA All-American.

Jesse Moren Bader

Jesse Bader's first full-time ministry was at First Christian Church, Atchison, Kansas.

Julia Arthur

Benjamin P. Cheney, Jr., died near Kingman, Arizona, on June 5, 1942 – ironically, alongside the tracks of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, of which he had once been a director.

Lamy, New Mexico

This railroad, usually called just the "Santa Fe," was originally planned to run from Atchison, Kansas, on the Missouri River, to Santa Fe, the capital city of New Mexico, and then points west.

Lionel Corporation

The Lionel 2333 diesel locomotive, an EMD F3 in the colorful Santa Fe "Warbonnet" paint scheme, introduced in 1948, became the Lionel company icon and the icon of the era, yet Lionel declined rapidly after 1956.

Lounge car

The cars were often operated by the Pullman Company, and in other cases by the railroad directly as part of the dining car department (on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway the Fred Harvey Company manned the food concession).

Machinists Union Racing

Scott Atchison and Kevin Cogan drove for the team in 1988 and saw little success, although Cogan did register the team's best finish of third at the Long Beach Grand Prix in 1988, finishing 13th in the 1988 championship while Atchison finished 20th.

Rock Port, Missouri

Rock Port is a city in Clay Township, Atchison County, Missouri, United States and the county seat of Atchison County.

Strong City, Kansas

In 1881, the name was changed to Strong, in honor of William Barstow Strong, General Superintendent of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, whom later become the president of the company.

Thomas Clarke Rye

Rye was born in Benton County, Tennessee, the son of Wayne Rye, a merchant, and Elizabeth (Atchison) Rye.


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