Union Pacific west from Leavenworth: A history of the Leavenworth, Kansas & Western Railway

The history of the rail line that ran from Leavenworth to Miltonvale, Kansas is told. Initially constructed as narrow gauge Kansas Central Railway, this line later became part of the Union Pacific Railroad system. A few years after converting from narrow gauge to standard gauge, the Union Pacific-controlled Kansas Central was purchased at a foreclosure auction for $200,000 and rechristened the Leavenworth, Kansas & Western, with plans to expand the line to the western border of Kansas and northward into Nebraska. Converted to standard gauge in 1890, the 166-mile route extended west from Leavenworth to Miltonvale. But financial woes dogged the line and in 1908 it was sold to the Union Pacific. Improved highway transportation and losses spurred by the Great Depression caused the UP to abandon nearly all of the LK&W line in 1935.