Kansas Pacific: An Illustrated History

ISBN: 0-942035-46-1

What became the Kansas Pacific began life as the idea of visionaries in the 1840s. One group of promoters formed a corporation and was able to obtain a federal land grant for its proposed route. Explorer John C. Fremont entered the picture, renamed the railroad the Union Pacific Eastern Division despite no link to the other Union Pacific, and spearheaded construction until being ousted. The line was completed to Denver in 1870 and the company again changed its name to Kansas Pacific. Poor trackage, train robbers and intense competition took their financial toll on the line until financier Jay Gould took control as part of his bid to destroy the Union Pacific. Ultimately, Gould forced the UP to buy the KP in 1880.