1 Jul 1864 Jahr - Completion of rail line from Wyandotte City to Lawerence

Beschreibung:

In early July 1864 the 40-mile rail line from Wyandotte City to Lawrence was completed by the UPRW-ED and Samuel Hallett sent out invitations for a gala commemorative celebration scheduled for August 18th (Morgan, p. 441) The first locomotive to pull passengers for an excursion was “The Wyandotte” with Number “1” painted on its side. The first conductor was Moses Brinkerhoff who had been employed since 1856 on the Hannibal St. Joseph Railroad (KS. Hist. Quarterly, V. XXXII, p. 169). Conductor Brinkerhoff was a sensation when he arrived in town since he was famous for foiling a train robbery on the Panama Railroad in 1855. In Wyandotte County the train issued stops at Muncie, Edwardsville, Forest Lake, Sunflower and Bonner Springs. The once prioritized Leavenworth to Lawrence branch sat unfinished and for the time abandoned (Ibid, p. 167).