Kirksville, Missouri

====Railroads====

Kirksville, by way of [[La Plata, Missouri|La Plata]], is serviced by [[Amtrak]]'s [[Southwest Chief]] which runs along the [[BNSF Railway]].  The distance from [[Truman State University]] to [[La Plata (Amtrak station)]] is approximately {{convert|12.5|mi|km}}.

Kirksville once had two operational railroads that ran through town. The east-west rail line was originally incorporated as the Quincy, Missouri & Pacific Railroad, which was renamed several times during financial restructuring and changing hands numerous times, until in 1897 it became the Quincy, Omaha & Kansas City Railroad. Financial problems continued, and it was operated by the [[Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad]] after 1903 and later absorbed by that company, which in turn became [[Burlington Northern]] in 1970. The portion of the line that ran west of Kirksville towards Green City was abandoned and eventually torn down in the early 1950s. The portion of the line that ran east of town towards Edina, Labelle, and West Quincy was scrapped in 1982 - 1983, after the [[Staggers Rail Act]] deregulated the rail industry. The depot which serviced along the Burlington Northern in Kirksville still stands along Elson Street just north of Cottonwood Street and plans are that it will be renovated.

Kirksville's other railroad, the [[Wabash Railroad]], became the [[Norfolk and Western Railway]] in October, 1964. This north-south line later became the [[Norfolk Southern Railway]] in 1982 after N&W merged with [[Southern Railway (U.S.)|Southern Railway]]. In April 1992, the last official NS train ran the line between Albia, IA and Moberly, MO as the railroad announced it would abandon the line due to a loss in profit. During the summer of 1993, the railroad reopened to train traffic as the floods of the midwest affected lines around the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Trains continued to run the line until 1995. After failed attempts from buyers wanting to purchase the line and turn it into a shortline railroad, work began on tearing down the railroad from Moberly, MO northward toward La Plata, MO where it has a connection with the BNSF Railway and from Moulton, IA southward toward La Plata, MO. The portion of the line from Moulton, IA northward towards Albia was purchased by the [[Appanoose County Community Railroad]]. In late September 1997, the tracks through Kirksville were finally torn out, leaving the city without a rail line. The project to tear out the abandoned line was completed by the end of 1997.