Kansas Central Boxcar back on trucks

The Leavenworth Kansas Historical Museum's "illegal auxiliary structure" (as it was apparently described by the City of Leavenworth a few years ago) is now inarguably a boxcar, having received a set of trucks yesterday.


Getting ready to lift the car up so the trucks can be rolled under it. A local construction company was kind enough to lend a hand with their forklift, saving many hours of tedious work with bottle jacks and blocking.


Back on trucks for the first time in a century and a quarter. The trucks are D&RGW 3'7" wheelbase 25 ton archbars that came from a stock car / idler flat that died of natural causes earlier this year.

The exact number of the KC car is unknown. It was built by the Great Western Manufacturing Company of Leavenworth (perhaps best known for making stoves) in the early 1870's and retired when the KC was standard gauged in 1890. The car's history from there is a bit murky, it may have been used as a depot or other lineside structure by the standard gauge. Eventually it ended up as a cattle feeder on a farm near Winchester KS.

Jason Midyette