Former MKT and MP Crossing
Wagoner, OK Hot Spot
| Wagoner, Ok is where 2 Union Pacidic mainlines cross. One of the lines is the original Missouri Kansas & Texas (MKT) mainline from St. Louis and Kansas City to Texas, the first railroad given permission to build across Indian Territory. The second line is the Missouri Pacific (MP) line from Van Buren, AR to Coffeyville, KS. At one time the Missouri Oklahoma & Gulf (MO&G), then Kansas Oklahoma & Gulf (KO&G), paralleled the MKT from north east of Wagoner to Wagoner and then paralleled the MP to Okay, OK where they crossed. Today the tracks of the former KO&G parallel the former MP tracks toward Okay. |
| In addition to crossing, there are connections from the MKT to the MP and from the MP to the MKT as seen below from southwest of the MP tracks, as seen on June 6, 2010. |
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Photos by Mike Condren |
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| This is the southbound train on the MKT for which the "medium diverging" signal is intended. | ||
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Photo by Mike Condren |
| This train was a northbound grain train on the MP from Van Buren, AR to Coffeyville, KS as seen on March 6, 2011. That is Kenny Young from Memphis who had helped move my layout from Memphis to Tahlequah on this trip. |
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Photos by Mike Condren |
| This train was the only one on our day with a DPU. Most trains on the former MP Wagoner Sub operate with DPUs these days. |
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Photos by Kenny Young |
| This train was on the MKT line from Muskogee that took the connection to the MP line to Coffeyville, KS. The first car appears to be containers of garbage with the last cars former MP MOW hoppers. |
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Photos by Mike Condren |
| On April 22, 2012 this OG&E loaded unit coal train was southbound off the Katy taking the connection to the MoPac and head to Ft. Gibson Jct. and the branch to the Muskogee Power Plant. This branch is laid on the original right of way of the Ozark & Cherokee Central which later became the Muskogee Branch of the Frisco. |
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Photos by Mike Condren |
| This empty unit coal train is taking the MKT to MoPac connection to head up the MoPac northbound on April 22, 2012. |
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Photos by Mike Condren |
The special agents tolerate us here on railroad property as long as we play by their rules, no crossing of tracks. What are you likely to see?You are likely to see general merchandise trains on both lines. You are likely to see loaded unit coal trains heading for the Muskogee OG&E power plant on the east side of the Arkansas River opposite Muskogee. Those trains take a branch at Ft. Gibson on the right-of-way of the former Muskogee Branch of the Frisco, nee Ozark & Cherokee Central. Other unit coals trains can be seen on both lines. |
Location
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| This area is relatively safe during the day, especially in a group, but is not recommended at night. |
Train-watching Spots
| In the morning one can park where the Missouri Pacific station once stood. In the afternoon one can park on the street on the west side of the tracks. |
| This northbound freight was on the UP at Wagoner at the crossing of the former MP and MKT. There was one unit on the front and one DPU on the rear. That is the connection from the MP to the MKT in the foreground. |
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Photos by Mike Condren |
| This train is southbound on the MKT tracks on Oct. 30, 2010. |
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Photos by Mike Condren |
| This shot shows the UP844 steam engine being serviced while the Little Rock Express sits on the diamond at Wagoner on June 9, 2011. |
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Photos by Mike Condren |
| The former MKT Wagoner, OK station is relocated a couple of miles north of the town on US69 and now is a junk store and restaurant. There is a former MKT caboose and a passenger car behind the building. |
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Photos by Mike Condren |
Send comments, suggestions, and requests for more information to: mcondren@cbu.edu