Barnes Railroad Collection

Lela Barnes, compiler

Microfilm MS 1312-MS 1313B

• Introduction
• Incorporation Information Alphabetical Card File
• Railroad Charters
• Corporate Historical Sketches of Selected Kansas Railroads
• Index to Reports of the Board of Railroad Commissioners
• Paper Roads [Card Index]
• Paper Roads [Alphabetical Narrative Listing of Nonoperating Roads]
• Town and Country Names in Titles of Railroads
• Railroad Items from Newspapers
• Statistical Information on Kansas Railroads
• Railroad Notes (Reference)
• Supplemental Railroad Material
• Microfilm Roll List

Introduction

These rolls of microfilm reproduce in its entirety the Barnes Railroad Collection, a compilation of reference information on Kansas railroads made by Lela Barnes and other staff members of the Kansas State Historical Society from 1963 through about 1971. The railroad information summarized in this collection dates from 1855 through the late 1950s.

Notice: This material may be protected by copyright law (title 17, U. S. Code). This material was compiled from mostly public sources by staff members employed by the Kansas State Historical Society under a grant from the Baughman Foundation. This collection is assumed to be a public record, although some of its contents may have been the result of prior research done privately by Lela Barnes or other staff members.

A contents list including descriptions of each series follows this introduction. In general, this microfilm contains information on all railroads incorporated to do business in Kansas, including street railways and railroads that never progressed beyond incorporation (“paper roads”). The data in this collection were compiled from incorporation records, newspapers, manuscripts, printed works, and other sources within and without the Historical Society. The collection consists of the following subgroups: Incorporation Information Alphabetical Card File, “Railroad Charters (1855-1931),” Corporate Historical Sketches of Selected Kansas Railroads, “Index to Reports of the Board of Railroad Commissioners,” “Paper Roads” (card index and alphabetical narrative listing), “Town and County Names in Titles of Railroads,” “Railroad Items from Newspapers,” Statistical Information on Railroads, “Railroad Notes (Reference),” and “Supplemental Railroad Material.”

This project has been described in volumes 32-38 (1966-1972) of The Kansas Historical Quarterly.

Incorporation Information Alphabetical Card File

Periods Covered in Corporations Volumes
List of Articles of Incorporation volumes by number giving the date span of each volume. The volumes form part of the records of the secretary of State in the State archives holdings of the Kansas State Historical Society’s Library and Archives Division.

Periods Covered in Amendments Volumes
Listing of Amendments to Articles of Incorporation volumes by number giving the date span of each volume. The volumes form part of the records of the secretary of State in the State archives holdings of the Kansas State Historical Society’s Library and Archives Division.

Railroads
Arranged alphabetically by railroad name. Each card contains the projected route of the railroad, its gauge, the corporation’s official place of business, the corporation’s term of existence, names and addresses of directors, amount of stock issued, names of stockholders, and signers of the articles of incorporation. Citations to the original articles of incorporation are provided. Railroad names are listed as they were incorporated, and reorganized corporations appear on separate cards. The word The at the beginning of a railroad’s name is disregarded for alphabetizing purposes. Cards for more than one railroad with the same name are filed chronologically by date of incorporation. Street railways are not included, but form their own file (see below).

Street Railroads
Alphabetical card file of street railways arranged by railroad name. Each card contains the projected route of the railroad, its gauge, the corporation’s official place of business, the corporation’s term of existence, names and addresses of directors, amount of stock issued, names of stockholders, and signers of the articles in incorporation. Citations to the original articles of incorporation are provided. Names of railways are listed as they appear on the incorporation records, and reorganized railroads appear on separate cards. The word The at the beginning of a railroad’s name is disregarded for alphabetizing purposes. Cards for more than one railroad with the same name are filed chronologically by date of incorporation.

Railroad Charters (1855-1931)

Chronological card index to railroad articles of incorporation. Each card contains the name of the railroad and the date of its incorporation. This card file includes both operating and nonoperating (“paper”) roads, but does not include street railways.

Corporate Historical Sketches of Selected Kansas Railroads

Legend
Key to the abbreviations used in the Sketches (below).

Sketches
Arranged alphabetically by name of railroad. Each entry contains the date of incorporation, proposed route, place of business, capital stock, description of the company, and sources. These Sketches were written for selected railroads. The description of the company typically includes predecessor and successor corporations and number of miles of track.

Cross-reference Note
One sheet describing information on the Manhattan, Alma & Burlingame Railway Co. found in the Anderson Family collection in the manuscripts holdings of the Kansas State Historical Society. This information is similar to that appearing in Extracted References to Selected Railroads, below.

Index to Reports of the Board of Railroad Commissioners

Legend
Description of the Active Railroads, Arranged Alphabetically card file and the source of the information.

Active Railroads, Arranged Alphabetically
Alphabetical index to reports and directories of railroads in Kansas in 1883-1910 volumes of the Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners, State of Kansas. The index shows, under the title of each railroad, the years in which reports appear, followed by page numbers.

Active Roads, Chronological by Charter Dates (1859-1922)
Chronological card file of active railroads, similar to the “Railroad Charters (1855-1931).” Each card contains the name of the railroad and the date of its incorporation. The card file includes the period 1859-1922; undated entries are filed after those for 1922.

Depots, Horse Car Railroads, Street and Electric Railroads
Arranged alphabetically by corporation name. Each card provides the date of incorporation, the volume & page of the Articles of Incorporation volume on which the incorporation appears, a brief description of the company, and any amendments to the articles with dates and citations.

Paper Roads [Card Index]

Arranged alphabetically by name of railroad. Each card provides the name of the “paper” (nonoperating) road and its date of incorporation.

Paper Roads [Alphabetical Narrative Listing of Nonoperating Roads]

Arranged alphabetically by name of railroad. Each entry contains the name, date of incorporation, projected route, and total mileage to be built.

Town and Country Names in Titles of Railroads

Introduction
Handwritten list (“Have included:”), presumably of out-of-state cities included in the Index below.

Index
Arranged alphabetically by name of county or city, thereunder by name of railroad and chronologically by date of incorporation. Index to names of cities and counties appearing in names of operating railroads. Each card contains the name of the county or town, the name of the railroad, and the date of its incorporation.

Railroad Items from Newspapers

Key to Newspaper Abbreviations
List of newspapers from which citations were made and the abbreviations to them that appear on the Citations, Alphabetical by Railroad, below.

Citations, Alphabetical by Railroad
Arranged by name of railroad, thereunder chronologically. Quotations or summaries of articles relating to railroads appearing in larger Kansas newspapers (see Key to Newspaper Abbreviations for listing of those newspapers searched). References to articles on Kansas railroads generally are filed in the Kansas State Historical Society's Kansas library card catalog under RAILROADS; citations to railroad service to a specific town or county by more than one railroad are filed under RAILROADS—[name of city or county].

Statistical Information on Kansas Railroads

Railroads Operating in Kansas in 1954 (Independent); Dissolved Corporations
Lists of railroads operating in Kansas in 1954 with their average mileage operated and dissolved corporations and their dates of dissolution.

Interstate Commerce Commission Reports
Description of information relating to Kansas railroads found in Interstate Commerce Commission Reports.

Tables of Steam Railroad Statistics in Some State Agency Reports
Citation to page numbers showing assessments of rolling stock, value per mile, county distribution, and abstracts of all railroad assessments in the biennial Report volumes of the Auditor of State, Dept. of Post-Audit, 1895-1908; individual railroad assessments, abstracts of all railroad assessments, and county distribution in the biennial Report volumes of the Tax Commission, 1908-1938; lists of directors and officers of steam railroads, mileage operated on the entire line and in the State of Kansas, and miles of single track owned and new track constructed reported in volumes of the Biennial Report of the Public Utilities Commission, State of Kansas, 1912-1924; tables of taxable railroad property, tables of assessed or equalized valuations (with mileage), and county distribution in volumes of the Biennial Report of the Public Service Commission, 1926-1932; abandoned railroad charts and operating statistics in volumes of the Biennial Report of the Kansas Corporation Commission, 1932-1955; and assessments and county breakdowns in the biennial Report volumes of the State Commission of Revenue and Taxation, 1939-1954.

Railroad Notes (Reference)

Kansas Railroad Regulatory Agencies
Chronological list of regulatory agencies in Kansas which had jurisdiction over railroads.

Kansas Railroads Listed in Poor's Manual of Railroads, 1869-1902
Arranged chronologically by Manual edition. Lists of Kansas railroads cited in Poor with page numbers on which the citations appear.

Supplemental Railroad Material

Kansas State Archives, Governors’ Papers: References to Correspondence
Relating to Railroads
Arranged chronologically by governor’s term of office, 1865-1954. Folder titles or brief synopses of railroad-related records appearing in the papers of Governors Samuel J. Crawford through Edward F. Arn.

Miscellaneous Railroad Information
Arranged by source (publications, newspapers, manuscripts, or library). Citations, including quotations and summaries, of references to railroads in Kansas Historical Collections and The Kansas Historical Quarterly as well as in newspaper, manuscript, and library resources of the Kansas State Historical Society.

Extracted References to Specific Railroads
Arranged alphabetically by name of railroad, thereunder by source (Kansas State Historical Society department or other institution). Quotations and summaries of references to specific railroads appearing in newspapers, manuscripts, and printed works.

Microfilm Roll List

This microfilm is available through interlibrary loan.

These records were prepared for microfilming by Bob Knecht, 1985.

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