KYLE Buffalo Creek Bridge (Middle)

In 1865, the Atchison & Pikes Peak Railroad began construction on a 100 mile railroad route, extending from Atchison, Kansas to Waterville, Kansas.  Construction began on the line in 1867, and the first 40 miles were completed that year.  During 1867, the railroad was renamed the Central Branch of the Union Pacific Railroad.  The line to Waterville was completed in 1868.  This line was envisioned to connect Atchison with the Pacific Coast.  During the mid to late 1860s, railroads sought to develop another Transcontinental Line across the United States.  During 1866, an additional charter was issued, allowing the Eastern Division of the Union Pacific Railroad to begin construction westwards from Kansas City, stalling plans to extend this line westwards.  In 1876, the Waterville and Washington Railroad constructed an additional 20 miles to Washington, Kansas; followed by the Republican Valley Railway constructing an additional 42 miles from Greenleaf to Concordia, Kansas.  A further extension was completed in 1878, when the Atchsion, Solomon Valley and Denver Railway constructed an additional 72 miles to Cawker City, Kansas, and construction was began on an extension to Lenora, Kansas.  These railroads were consolidated to form the Atchison, Colorado and Pacific Railroad (AC&P) in 1879, which completed the branch to Lenora.  The Rooks County Railroad completed an additional extension from Alton to Stockton, Kansas in 1885. 

The AC&P would be consolidated to form the Central Branch Railway (CBR) in 1899, and the CBR and Rooks County Railroad would be merged into the Missouri Pacific Railway (MP) in 1909.  MP had amassed a large collection of railroad lines, particularly in Missouri and Kansas.  This line served as a secondary mainline, serving agricultural industries in western and central Kansas.  The railroad reorganized to the Missouri Pacific Railroad in 1917.  The MP was merged into the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) in 1982.  UP would abandon the line between Atchison and Vliets in 1990, and lease the lines west of Frankfort to the Kyle Railroad in 1991.  The segment from Portis to Lenora would be abandoned in 2000, and from Frankfort to Ames in 2001.  In 2004, the line from Frankfort to Vliets would be abandoned, and in 2011, the lines from Stockton to Osborne and Downs to Portis would be abandoned.  The Ames to Osborne segment of this line continues to be operated by the Kyle Railroad on lease from Union Pacific Railroad.