Last update:

02/11/2009

The Rock Island Falls and the Coal Chute Tumbles

By A.N. Winkler

The coal chute stood alone by the mainline tracks south of McFarland. Not only was it a monument of past railroad activity in the town, but it was also a monument of strength and fortitude. The exquisite Modoc Hotel and Eating House was gone, the stockyards and sheep barns had disappeared, and the locomotive roundhouse had long since vanished. Yet the coal chute remained, defying nature and man’s tendency to remove objects which no longer made a profit. The structure had endured all and many people felt that immortality was somehow added to the concrete and steel which shaped the sturdy edifice. Despite its unconquerable traits, its time was limited. Fate had camouflaged itself with a mission called “rehabilitation” and destruction of the coal chute was the ending result.

The late Clyde Forinash, a long time McFarland resident and Rock Island employee, remembered the coal chute well. He came to the town in 1920, (before the coal chute was built) and was one of 24 men who shoveled coal from an old coal bridge onto waiting cars for steam locomotives. In 1922, the new 300 ton capacity coal chute went into operation with a modern bucket elevator. Clyde became foreman of the operation with a crew of two. It yielded a great savings in labor costs for the railroad. However, its eminence was short lived because in 1928 the Rock Island went from coal to oil for its steam locomotives in this part of the system, and the relatively new coal chute became obsolete.

For 52 years the coal chute stood unused except for pigeons which roosted in the operator’s room on the top. The Rock Island was content to leave it stand.  It was told around the town that a similar structure in Illinois had been dynamited and the blast and falling concrete had torn up track. It would be best to leave well enough alone and keep the trains running.

The coal chute was revered by young and old alike in the town of McFarland.  The older residents remembered the important role it played in the past when railroad activity was very dominant in the valley town. It made them feel comfortable to have this familiar landmark remain with them unchanged in a fast changing world.

The youth looked upon the tower of concrete with wonderment and tried to visualize how it was used in the past and what the railroad and the town were like in the “good old days”. They also questioned why it was still standing considering that it was unused and unneeded in the modern world of diesel engines. It also represented a challenge to the adventure seeking adolescents. The stairway which went to the operator’s room on the top had been removed at the bottom to prevent access. However, with a boost and a shove, one could grab the lowest step which hung overhead and pull himself up. The steps were made of wood and were bolted to metal tips which were welded to the metal staircase. Since the wood in the steps was rotting, the climber would make sure his foot was on the edge of the step which rested on the metal tip. If the wood gave way, his foot would still be on the metal below the wood. Where the wood was completely gone, the metal tip provided enough of a foot hold to continue the assent.

Once on top, one would enter a room and looking east would see a huge metal bucket in a shaft which at one time could be elevated up and down to handle the coal. On the northwest corner of the room was a storage bin for engine sand which was used by the locomotives to give their spinning wheels some traction. A beautiful view of the surrounding countryside could be seen from this high vantage point. Toward the south, Mill Creek meandered through the valley floor, and towards the north was a bird’s eye view of McFarland.

Although it was never spoken, it was a general understanding among the McFarland youth that those who climbed to the top of the chute were a notch above those who didn’t. Hindsight gives a different perspective on this analysis. Those who rejected the climb were probably wiser than those who ascended and were definitely on more solid ground with their reasoning. There is a fine line between stupidity and courage and it’s sometimes difficult to see where one ends and the other begins.

The Rock Island Railroad went bankrupt in August of 1979 and eventually liquidated. In March of 1980, segments of its line were purchased by various railroads. The SSW Railroad, also known as the Cotton Belt, a subsidiary of the Southern Pacific Railroad, purchased Rock Island track from Tucumcari, New Mexico to St. Louis, Missouri. This line passes through Wabaunsee County, Kansas and follows the low land of Mill Creek and then encounters the flint hills near Alta Vista. Besides Alta Vista, it also touches the towns of Volland, Alma, McFarland, Paxico, and Maple Hill. The SP Railroad was loaned $48.5 million by the federal government to rehabilitate the tracks it purchased in Kansas. A new owner with money to spend and a large project to spend it on is what ended the era of the coal chute.

The “rehab” project was in full force by the summer of 1980. The eastbound track of the double mainline track between Herington and Topeka was removed except for certain segments which were saved for passing track purposes. The roadbed was raised with new rock and some rail and many ties were replaced.  Brush was removed along the railroad right-of-way along with anything else not needed or used. This was the category in which the coal chute fell under and its destruction was planned.

Heck & Wicker, Inc. was the contractor hired to perform the explosive demolition on the coal chute. Several days were spent in preparing for the blast that would bring it down. Holes were drilled into the legs for the dynamite placement as well as a trench which was dug around the base. A wrecking ball and crane was used to weaken it in strategic places. A large hole was dug to the north and a pile of dirt was placed so the chute would land on it at the optimum place. This would have a seesaw affect on the structure and assist maneuvering it into its grave. On December 19, 1980, the crew was ready to carry out the death penalty on the coal chute. There was a short delay to allow a train to pass and then at  approximately 11:00 AM the charges were set off. According to information supplied by the crew, larger charges were put in the north side of the chute and were actually detonated first. The lighter charges on the south were detonated a split second afterwards causing the chute to fall toward the planned northerly direction. Eye witnesses at the scene said it seemed to fall in slow motion and  compared it to the demolition of buildings seen on television newscasts.

What had been a permanent part of the local environment for 58 years was obliterated in a matter of seconds. What power mankind seems to possess and even has the capability to destroy himself. The blast belched dust and smoke and launched particles of concrete into the air and sent some pigeons flying which had been roosting on the top. Some rocks the size of a softball landed near a home 150 yards away. A contract worker who had his new 1980 pickup parked almost 100 yards away, had it badly damaged by the flinging rock. After the coal  chute fell, it was maneuvered into the large hole which had been dug and was  buried. The bulldozers quickly disposed of the remains, leaving a conspicuous void along the tracks where the coal chute had once stood.

Where the coal chute lays buried is but a patch of weeds along the tracks today. Nothing marks its grave except for a few cottonwood trees which have sprouted up over the years. Near the trees, some settling of the grave has exposed some remains of concrete and steel and has created an ideal place for animals to den. Where once the coal chute served as a roost for pigeons, it now is likely a home for opossums or skunks.

For many years the coal chute was a familiar part of the valley skyline near the town of McFarland. It stood tall and strong, a watchtower of the town. It was a visible link to the past and portrayed stability to an unstable town. It was destroyed in the name of progress and buried in the idealism of rehabilitation.

The Southern Pacific Railroad was eventually purchased by the DRGW Railroad and then by the Union Pacific Railroad. Today progress can be seen in the fast moving trains pulled by yellow engines which pass quickly through the valley town.

Rehabilitation can be seen in the weeds and brush which have resprouted from the severed roots of previous years. Unfortunately, the coal chute had no roots to keep it alive. It is gone forever and like the Rock Island Railroad, is now part of history. It only survives in the memories of yesterday.