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| Open car on E.K. c.1928 |
In 1928 the United States was
on a collision course with the Great Depression and it was in that same year that the citizens of Grayson, Vincent, Hitchins,
Reedville, Butler, Willard, Bellstrace, and Webbville purchased the Grayson-Webbville segment from the owners of the Eastern
Kentucky Railway. The name of their new company was the "Eastern Kentucky Southern Railway Company".
The new company made a determined effort to
win the approval of the public and to make a profit. A new automobile powered vehicle, No. 215, popularly called "Queen" was
introduced to the segment. Queen looked very much like a school bus on tracks and had much less engine than that of the Blue
Goose.
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| Queen, c.1932 |
The Eastern Kentucky Southern
Railway made some money but not enough to maintain the tracks for three years. The road became very dangerous for rail travel
and the decision was made to discontinue the line. An application to abandon the remaining 13.41 miles of track was filed
with the Interstate Commerce Commission on December 12, 1932. Exactly one week later permission was granted.
Service on the line terminated near the end
of January 1933, and work of dismantling the line started shortly thereafter. The track, rolling stock, and locomotives were
sold for no less than scrap price. The day of the Eastern Kentucky Railway had quietly ended.
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| Queen, c.1929 |
Website by Terry Baldridge
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