Chicago, Kansas, and Nebraska Railway - Steve Pelles

The Chicago, Kansas, and Nebraska Railway was formed in 1885. Marcus Low was named as its first President. The CRI&P

advanced the CK&N about 25 million dollars to begin construction in exchange for nearly all of the railroads stock. This made

the CRI&P the owners of the railroad from the very beginning. The CK&N had laid about 1388 miles of track by 1888. It was

laid mostly in Kansas and Missouri, but in 1889 CK&N failed to make its interest payment to the CRI&P and so foreclosure

proceedings began resulting in the takeover by CRI&P by June 17, 1891.

Marcus Low was hired by the Rock Island in 1873 as a lead attorney and was active in bringing about the control of the St.

Joseph and Low Railroad by the RI. Low was turned loose to extend the RI into Colorado. In the middle of 1886 Low wasted

no time grading from Elwood, Kansas in the direction of Horton, Kansas. The construction gangs, aided by the fair Kansas

weather and its ideal terrain, were caught up in a wildly enthusiastic spirit of challenge. They threw up the fill, bridged the

streams, and had things ready for the track layers over the first 43 miles.

The trackmen followed to Horton, and then went to the state capital Topeka, which was reached in 1887. From this point the

line was to go toward Hutchinson and then to Liberal, Kansas, but a change was made when a property owner by the name

of M. D. Herington talked Low into moving the line to Herington. At that time the town did not even exist, but was promised.

Herington made a deal with Low to have every concession possible and that he would receive fine treatment when he got

there. By midsummer Herington became a railroad center, and one of the biggest deviation points on the Rock Island system.

1887 saw the railroad build a line one hundred and three miles from McFarland, on the south west line, in a northwesterly

direction to Belleville, Kansas. Then from Herington to Salina 48 miles was constructed, and finally from Fairbury, Nebraska

to Nelson another stretch of 51 miles went into the records.

Roughly following the Old Chisholm Trail, the construction down into the land of the Indians across the Kansas border

progressed through the first half of the following year. Pond Creek was reached on July 15, 1888, and the grading was almost

finished beyond to Skelton and Hennessey, Kansas.

To the north a line from Horton, Kansas through Fairbury, Nebraska stretched its lonesome length to Roswell, Colorado and

southwest from Herington down through Hutchinson and Pratt.

Nothing in all railroad construction history had ever before equaled the Rock Island expansion so rapidly. The entire

mileage from Horton to Liberal was placed in service on February 26, 1888, and to Pond Creek on July 15, 1888. The first train

traversed the 564 miles from Horton to Colorado Springs on November 5, 1888. In all it had taken two years, four months, and

four days to build and put into operation one thousand one hundred and thirteen miles of railroad.

The Colorado extension had its beginning with the incorporation in Colorado of the Chicago, Rock Island and Colorado

Railroad Company on January 31, 1888. On February 15 of that year the CRI & Colorado RR entered into a contract with the

Denver and Rio Grande RR “securing full and equal use of, and joint right in, that part of the road between Denver and

Pueblo, including all main line terminals and depots.”

In another area just west of Horton, Kansas the CK&N headed southwest toward a newly proposed settlement called

Goodland. By August the construction had reached a point 60 miles west of Goodland and was pushing ahead with the

objective of reaching Colorado Springs by November 1, 1888 at a rate of two and a half miles of track laid a day.

CK&N made the crossing with the Union Pacific at an area later platted for the town of Limon Junction, 107 miles from

Goodland. Passengers wishing to go to Denver could take the supply train to Limon and transfer to the Union Pacific.

Eighteen miles northeast of Colorado Springs the CK&N crossed the Denver and New Orleans railroad at Falcon. They built

a large depot there, in their style, with a two story station.

In September of 1888, crossing under the Santa Fe line to Denver, (pillars can still be seen, but the bridge is gone), the

CK&N followed the stream west to the D&RG’s main line. On the west side of the D&RG the future town of Roswell City was

platted, but later was changed to the east side of Monument Creek. East of the main line was laid out as the yard and shops

for the Colorado Springs terminal and became known as Roswell Junction. The CK&N main line was built parallel to the dual

gauge D&RG in Colorado Springs two miles to the south.

The track layers arrived on October 10, 1888 and the connection with the Rio Grande was officially made two days later. The

first train over the line, other than the construction train, was on October 26, 1888.

Service between Chicago and Colorado was started on November 18, 1888, with the luxurious “Royal Vestibule Flyer”,

bringing an actress to Denver and Pueblo.

On July 27, 1890, the Chicago, Kansas, and Nebraska Railroad was turned over to the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific

Railway Company, with all railway property, rights, and franchises now under the control of the Rock Island.