(The following story by Phyllis Jacobs Griekspoor and Van Williams appeared on The Wichita Eagle website on June 9.)
WICHITA, Kan. — A nonprofit land trust is proposing a tourist trolley that would run from Old Town to Andover.
The trolley would run through east Wichita following the old Frisco line, which the city of Wichita is considering turning into a walking and biking trail.
Instead, the Sunflower Land Trust would like to run an old-fashioned streetcar on the rail line. The trolley would link Old Town, Wichita State University, Wesley Medical Center, the Wichita Clinic, Bradley Fair, the new Waterfront development and several miles of scenic open area to Butler Community College’s campus in Andover.
“The line has potential both for tourism and for a transportation source, bringing people into the Old Town area without the need for additional parking,” said Jim Michael, chief executive of the Sunflower Land Trust, which preserves open spaces for scenic, historical and ecological purposes.
“Just picture conventions and other events in Wichita with the opportunity to move people to the high-end shopping districts to the east.”
Transportation or trail?
The trust’s interest springs from both the historic value and the economic potential of the rail line, Michael said.
The Frisco line is the second-oldest rail line in Kansas, established almost 125 years ago. Wichita’s transportation history provides an opportunity as a tourism base, he said.
“This city was built on transportation — first rail, then air,” he said. “It’s a heritage that continues today.”
The tourist train proposal is competing with a plan by the city of Wichita to develop a $3.8 million walking and biking trail on the old line, which was abandoned by Burlington Northern Santa Fe.
The city is currently taking comments from the public about the recreation trail.
Two City Council members — Sue Schlapp and Carl Brewer, whose districts include the old Frisco line — said they are interested in hearing more about the tourist train.
“I don’t think any of us have made up our mind about how to use that” line, Schlapp said.
Brewer said he has received calls from people inquiring if the city could support both a multipurpose trail and a tourist train.
Sen. Henry Helgerson, D-Wichita, a member of the Sunflower Trust board, thinks the tourist train idea should be explored.
“It is one marketable idea that’s been used in other towns that could possibly work,” he said.
“It would be nice to use that in developing a plan we have for the downtown and for tourism.”
Sunflower Trust said the tourist train would likely cost less than the $3.8 million the city intends to spend on a recreational trail.
The group hopes to get grants from governments and private foundations plus individual donations. It plans to find a private operator for the train, Michael said.
He said operating an excursion train on the line offers future public and economic benefits that exceed those of a recreational trail.
“That line crosses major intersections through the east side of the city,” he said. “It crosses Woodlawn and Rock Road and Webb Road. Can you imagine a bunch of kids on roller skates, or people pushing strollers, crossing those intersections?”
One homeowner said he would welcome a tourist train over a recreational trail.
Bob Allison, who owns a home near 127th Street East and the railroad tracks, fears the trail would create too much traffic in the back yards of residents who bought homes on the edge of the city to enjoy nature and escape crowds.
“If it would be converted to a rail for a commuter car, which would keep the general public out, I think our whole neighborhood would support it,” he said.
Replacing the rails
The Burlington Northern Santa Fe has already started collecting the rails along the line, said John Schlegel, director of the metropolitan planning department.
Steve Forsberg, a spokesman for the company, said the railroad always harvests the rails and any usable ties when a line is abandoned.
However, he said, someone interested in operating a trolley or streetcar could replace the railway at a fraction of the cost of building a freight line.
“Basically, you need such light rail for a streetcar that it would be wise to lay new rail anyway,” he said. “Lighter rail is also much, much cheaper to maintain.”
Michael said limited-service trolleys, such as the one the trust proposes for the old Frisco line, have been successful in other cities, including Memphis, Dallas, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Tucson and Colorado Springs.
“Connecting colleges and universities to historic, retail shopping and entertainment districts have been especially successful,” he said. “And our proposal would do that for Wichita.”