Milwaukee Road
Coburg Yard
East Bottoms, Kansas City, Missouri


The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific maintained a yard in the east bottoms of Kansas City, MO. called Coburg Yards. It featured an engine terminal and a large grain elevator. The Milwaukee Road entered Kansas City from the north at Excelsior Springs. Here it interchanged with a Wabash branch. As the Milwaukee Road approached the Missouri River, it paralelled the Wabash main along the river bottoms. Right before it crossed the river, It climbed the bluffs at a steep grade and made a 90 degree turn onto the Milwaukee bridge over the Missouri River. Suburban Junction was on the south side of the bridge. This is where the Milwaukee made connection with the Kansas City Southern Belt Line to Grand Central Terminal at 2nd and Wyandotte streets near downtown KC.

The approach to Coburg Yard from Suburban Jct. was inconveinent. The main crossed KCS' Kenoche Yard and Missouri Pacific's Neff Yard at grade. This made for some bad tie-ups in the East Bottoms. Also, pushers were required to get trains across the bridge and around the 90 degree curve. After Union Station and the new Kansas City Terminal crosstown main were built, Milwaukee Road passenger trains ran south from Suburban Jct to a connection with the KCT at Big Blue Jct. In 1945, a new way into Kansas City was devised. A new bridge across the Missouri River was built jointly with the Rock Island RR. This replaced the Rock's approach to Kansas City over Burlington trackage rights. A connection with the KCS was built at Air Line Jct. Coburg Yard, with it's difficult approach was abandoned. The Milwaukee Road then helpped improve KCS' Kenoche Yard and used it as a joint agency along with the KCS. The bridge over the Missouri River was sold to the city of Kansas City and converted for automobile use. It is known as Choteau Bridge, named after a founding father of the city. It is due to be replaced near the turn of the century. A remnant of Coburg Yard exsists as rusty tracks where the KCS will store cars and for switch runs to nearby industrial spurs. The elevator is still in use and is owned by the ADM company. Coburg Yard ceased to be the main yard for the Milwaukee in 1951.

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Last modified on August 3, 2001