Children and grownups in the city are only a few months away from losing a long-standing source of entertainment.
But The Little Train in Soden’s Grove can get by, with a little help from its friends.
The train has been running spring, summer and fall for about 48 years, despite a rocky start and numerous incidents along the way.
The Chamber of Commerce’s beautification committee had initiated the project to bring a little train to an Emporia park, but decided shortly after that it “had no business being in business,” and dropped the project, according to Gazette records. Local dentist Fred M. McCabe took over the fundraising and managed to sell enough “stock” in the miniature railroad, at $1 per certificate, to purchase the engine and cars, which arrived in Emporia in August 1958. The Santa Fe Railway and M.K. & T. Railroad, as well as others in the city, donated labor and supplies to lay the track and build a bridge over a small gully. The cost of the train set-up was well over $8,000, and the total needed was not raised completely from stock sales.
“We have very generous terms from the manufacturer,” trustee McCabe said in a Gazette article on June 28, 1958. “After the down payment, we will pay $100 per week while the train is operating. This means there is no obligation during the winter months.” He said that the weekly payments could be made “easily,” because rides on the train would cost 10 cents each.
The public greeted the train with fanfare. It sat at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and Commercial Street during its first day in the city, so residents could get a good look at the new amusement ride. Pony rides and a King and Queen contest were held in conjunction with a dedication ceremony at Soden’s Grove. There, city leaders took turns driving the final golden spike into the railroad track. When the first passengers settled on board, The Little Train refused to start and, even after numerous attempted repairs, the train did not make its maiden run as scheduled.
Within days, however, whatever had been wrong was corrected and the train became a popular stop for families throughout the area. By the end of its first year, the train had hauled at least 9,000 passengers.
The Little Train’s life, though, has been pocked with engine failures, floods, vandalism, and other unexpected intrusions into its reliable operation.
The Early Bird/Emporia Optimist Club, which later had taken the train on as a project, frequently had help from railroad workers who kept the engine in repair. The Optimists and a few railroad workers took turns driving the train. They laid track after floods — sometimes twice in one year — and built a storage shed to protect it from the weather.
The Santa Fe Railway donated a switch tender shanty to be used as a depot in Soden’s Grove, and employees donated time for ties and track maintenance, as well as trestle and bridge work.
In 1972, the Optimists initiated a drive to raise money to repair the trestle and “other possibly dangerous physical conditions” as a result of the train’s insurance company notifying the club that unless those conditions were remedied, the company would not be liable for accidents.
By 1985, the Optimists were holding a major fundraising drive to restore the train, build a shed, and replace all of the ties, spikes and ballast along the track.
Girl Scouts joined the effort with a “Save the Train” campaign; they placed jars in local businesses throughout the city to collect donations.
Vandalism to the train and its shed seemed to be an ongoing problem, but in general, only a cosmetic one.
The Little Train derailed one Tuesday morning in April 1992, when it hit a squirrel that darted across the track. The engine, loaded with children from a day-care center, rolled onto its side and several passenger cars on the train were tilted. None of the children were injured, however, and a tow truck set the engine upright. After minor repairs, The Little Train was rolling again.
Through its lifetime, it has hauled tens of thousands of children, their parents, and grandparents. It has been the guest of honor at innumerable birthday parties and social events. The Emporia Friends of the Zoo and baseball fans count on it to be running as an enhancement to those group events.
That time may be drawing to a close.
The Sertoma Club of Emporia, which took responsibility for the train several years ago, is trying to raise $20,000 to install a new diesel generator, with drive motors consisting of electric motors on the wheels.
Sertoma members say the renovation should keep the train running for many years. Without the renovation, The Little Train is not expected to run through the summer.
Donations may be sent to Sertoma Club of Emporia, Miniature Train Fund, P.O. Box 593, Emporia KS 66801-0593.