THE DREAM

The Inter-Urban Railroad Connecting Olathe to Kansas City

Michael Round

June 22, 2009

Confluence - a flowing together.  That's what the Missouri and Kansas Rivers do in Kansas City.  Two snakes, meandering from high ground to lower ground ...

In 1903, it rained - and rained - and rained.  The two great rivers grew.   The great flood of 1903.  Kansas City became flooded.  Over 100 people died.  The extent of the disaster is shown by these "before and after" pictures:

A tragedy.

However, a similar "confluence" of events was taking place at this time, and is often the case, from tragedy comes triumph.

You see, William Strang's mother lived in Kansas City.

Who was William Strang?

He was a man who was tired of the continual flooding of the town.  Of residents being uprooted, of homes being destroyed, because of the low-lying downtown area.

But what to do?

He looked southwest and saw land on a bluff.  Yes!  Safety from low-lying terrain!  Serenity from the downtown life.  A new home!

But remember, this is 1903.  There is no automobile yet.  This is why people lived where they did.

How to get from here to there - and back again.

That was the given, to William Strang.  You see, he was a railroad man, and he knew he could build a railroad - an interurban railroad - from Kansas City to his new town - his park overland - OVERLAND PARK!

But that's not the end of the story.

Many trolley and interurban systems in the country were electric at the time, and he didn't see the sense in investing in such infrastructure.  But what's the alternative?  A self-propelled gas-electric vehicle.  A hybrid!  The first IN THE WORLD!  100 YEARS AGO!  RIGHT HERE IN OVERLAND PARK!

Heartland Traction

Edward Conrad

It doesn't matter that the vehicle didn't work as intended.  There was too little power generated to make the inclines.  The cars, made in Pennsylvania, were serviced by parts only made in Pennsylvania.  The technology was ahead of its time.

But there it was!

And it was beautiful!  Irene was divided into chair car and parlor sections. Inlay and glasswork put car right up into a class with some of the most opulent “private varnish” of the Age

Interurbans Without Wires

Edmund Keilty

A modified railroad, the Strang-Line Interurban, eventually snaked its way to Olathe, operating until 1940.

And so I dedicate today's article to William Strang, founder of Overland Park, visionary, who lived ... "right around the corner".