I am a writer living in Michigan, unable to travel to the area around Lebanon and Smith Center, Kansas. I would like to correspond with someone who lives in or knows the area, for information on the Kyle’s operations there. Stuff like, how many trains per day through Lebanon? Any industries served by the railroad in that county (Smith)? What commodities are handled? (I am pretty sure the main crop / commodity is wheat, but what else? Corn? Milo? Anything else?) Any livestock? My book is a novel that takes place in a fictional town in that area, somewhere in size between Lebanon and Smith Center. There are links to Niocodemus, Kansas, as well, but I am not sure the RR runs near there.
Usually 1 train a day on Kyle’s daisy chain system…
Nicodemes is closest to UP’s now abandoned Plainville Sub and MoP’s now gone Solomon Branch. The MoP predecessor and also Anthony & Northerns predecessor had intentions of going there, but failed. Stockton to Hill City was surveyed to death, but never built any further (The ill fated Central Branch of The Union Pacific/ Missouri Pacific finally started to die off.) Both branches abandoned by about 1990.
This link from UPRR’s website on their Short Line Partner RR’s. It also has some of the KYLE RR’s e-mail contact info (you might get a response, or not. always worth a try(?). http://www.uprr.com/customers/shortline/lines/kyle.shtml
at any rate their Facebook Page might be of interest to you: