In 1877, the Florence, El Dorado, and Walnut Valley Railroad Company built a branch line from Florence to El Dorado. In 1881, it was extended to Douglass, and later to Arkansas City.[1] In 1901, the line was leased and operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, which used the name "Florence & Arkansas City Division" for it.[2]
The line from Florence to El Dorado was abandoned in 1942[3][4] to reclaim the metal rails for the war effort during World War II because of a shortage of materials during those years.
Currently, the remaining part of the former Florence, El Dorado, and Walnut Valley Railroad that still exists is:[5]
^Marion County Kansas : Past and Present; Sondra Van Meter; MB Publishing House; LCCN 72-92041; 344 pages; 1972.
^Florence & Arkansas City Division in Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History; Standard Publishing Co; 805 pages; 1912.
^Railway Abandonment 1942
^"Burns Suffers From Stopped Rail Service, page 7; Peabody Gazette-Bulletin; 8 pages; October 8, 1942". Archived from the original on 2014-05-21. Retrieved 2014-05-21.
^Kansas Railroad Map; KDOT.
^Hampson in Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History; Standard Publishing Co; 805 pages; 1912.
^Akron in Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History; Standard Publishing Co; 805 pages; 1912.
Further reading
Stouffer's Railroad Map of Kansas; J.W. Stouffer; 1 page; 1915–1918.
Standard Atlas of Marion County, Kansas; Geo. A. Ogle & Co; 103 pages; 1902.
Standard Atlas of Butler County, Kansas; Geo. A. Ogle & Co; 69 pages; 1905.
Standard Atlas of Cowley County, Kansas; Geo. A. Ogle & Co; 54 pages; 1905.