Topic: Railfan
Kansas City had become a major rail center. I have found a place to watch trains which always seems to have a lot of activity. It is located in an area known as "The Bottoms". The rail press has often taken notice of the area for its' vintage warehouse and factory buildings.
There are plenty of unique buidings looking begging for the right place on a layout. It can't be denied there is a treasure trove here for urban historians, railbuffs, and model railroaders. As a modeler, I find inspiration down every street.
These buildings provide a great backdrop for a lot of railroading, however. I first visited the site last year and stopped off there a week ago while returning from Denver. It is accessed from Saint Louis Ave. and Beardsley Road immediately west of the downtown. On my first visit a local railfan advised me that is known as the "gooseneck", no doubt because of the contorted routes tracks follow between the Missouri River and the bluffs.
The Gooseneck can be a very busy place. Whenever I've visited there's been an average of at least a half dozen trains every hour.
There is also a pretty fair variety of trains to be seen. Unit coal train are, of course, very frequent. But there are also many freights and even some light locomotive movements. BNSF dominate the traffic but other roads are visitors.
Model railroading is my primary interest, however, I enjoy watching the real thing too. I didn't have a scanner with me but I really didn't need it to catch the action. UP, BNSF, NS, and KCS all have large terminals in the Kansas City area, American Railcar has a service facility, and there are plenty of industrial areas with railroad customers. All of which make this a great place for modeler and railfan alike to visit.
