Nomad of Mid-America
Lame Duck
The decision is in and the fate is final. With the stroke of Mr. Oberman's pen on March 15, 2023, the curtain has been called and the final lame duck month of operations has begun. For over 125 years, Kansas City Southern has done what its name implies and pointed southward from Kansas City towards destinations such as Shreveport, Beaumont, and, in later years, Meridian and Monterrey, slicing through the Ozarks and Ouachitas and cramming into every nook-and-cranny in between. This scrappy-natured yet short statured runt of the class I world has through its history staved off merger attempts and grown its network through tactical acquisition and international expansion. But the enticement of empires to be built and shareholder returns to be gained have finally swallowed the little fish in the pond. On April 14, 2023, KCS and its standalone reputation will be but a memory when incumbent CPKC is sworn in to assume operations over 20,000 newly integrated route miles spanning three countries. The pomp and circumstance of the inauguration will signal the end of independence for this storied southern carrier and the flashy corporate image that has been a trademark of railroading in the region for so long. The glory of the Southern Belle is not lost on this March occasion, the inevitable end less than a month out, as a pair of KCS EMDs slip into a rapidly-closing sucker hole atop the 125-foot-high steel trestle spanning 63rd Street in the southern burbs of their headquartered metropolitan, grinding uphill from the river bottoms with 10,827 tons worth of Shreveport-bound M262 26.
Lame Duck
The decision is in and the fate is final. With the stroke of Mr. Oberman's pen on March 15, 2023, the curtain has been called and the final lame duck month of operations has begun. For over 125 years, Kansas City Southern has done what its name implies and pointed southward from Kansas City towards destinations such as Shreveport, Beaumont, and, in later years, Meridian and Monterrey, slicing through the Ozarks and Ouachitas and cramming into every nook-and-cranny in between. This scrappy-natured yet short statured runt of the class I world has through its history staved off merger attempts and grown its network through tactical acquisition and international expansion. But the enticement of empires to be built and shareholder returns to be gained have finally swallowed the little fish in the pond. On April 14, 2023, KCS and its standalone reputation will be but a memory when incumbent CPKC is sworn in to assume operations over 20,000 newly integrated route miles spanning three countries. The pomp and circumstance of the inauguration will signal the end of independence for this storied southern carrier and the flashy corporate image that has been a trademark of railroading in the region for so long. The glory of the Southern Belle is not lost on this March occasion, the inevitable end less than a month out, as a pair of KCS EMDs slip into a rapidly-closing sucker hole atop the 125-foot-high steel trestle spanning 63rd Street in the southern burbs of their headquartered metropolitan, grinding uphill from the river bottoms with 10,827 tons worth of Shreveport-bound M262 26.