Kansas City Mule
St. Louis Mule
Mule at Kansas City Union Station in 1981
Overview
Service typeInter-city rail
StatusDiscontinued
LocaleMissouri
First serviceOctober 26, 1980
Last serviceJanuary 27, 2009
SuccessorMissouri River Runner
Former operator(s)Amtrak
Route
TerminiKansas City, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
Stops8
Distance travelled283 mi (455.44 km)
Average journey time5 hours 50 minutes
Service frequencyDaily
Train number(s)
  • 311, 358 (Kansas City Mule)
  • 316, 359 (St. Louis Mule)
On-board services
Class(es)
  • Business class
  • Reserved coach
Catering facilitiesOn-board cafe
Technical
Rolling stockAmfleet and Horizon coaches
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Track owner(s)Union Pacific Railroad
Route map
Southwest Chief to Los Angeles
0 mi
0 km
 Kansas City
KC Streetcar
Southwest Chief to Chicago
10 mi
16 km
 Independence
23 mi
37 km
 Lee's Summit
65 mi
105 km
 Warrensburg
94 mi
151 km
 Sedalia
158 mi
254 km
 Jefferson City
202 mi
325 km
 Hermann
232 mi
373 km
 Washington
270 mi
435 km
 Kirkwood
Texas Eagle to San Antonio
283 mi
455 km
 St. Louis
MetroLink (St. Louis)
Lincoln Service, Texas Eagle
to Chicago

The Kansas City Mule and St. Louis Mule were a pair of 283-mile (455 km) passenger trains operated by Amtrak running between St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri as part of the Missouri Service train network. Also operating over this route was the Ann Rutledge, which originated in Chicago. In January 2009, Amtrak consolidated these trains under the name Missouri River Runner.[1]

History

Amtrak introduced the two trains on October 26, 1980, in partnership with the state of Missouri, which provided a yearly subsidy of $484,000. It ran along a route that had been served for most of the 20th century by the Missouri Pacific Railroad. In July 1971, the route became the western leg of Amtrak's National Limited, which ran from New York City to Kansas City. That train, in turn, was the successor of the famed Spirit of St. Louis, which had run from 1927 to 1971.

The National Limited was discontinued due to budget cuts in 1979, reducing service along the St. Louis-Kansas City corridor to just one train, the Ann Rutledge, which ran from Chicago to Kansas City via St. Louis. Missouri officials wanted to maintain the same level of service between the state's two major cities, and urged Amtrak to preserve a regional service for the state to supplement the Ann Rutledge.

Although the two trains shared the same route, the eastbound train was known as the St. Louis Mule while the westbound train was called the Kansas City Mule. Contemporary news accounts referred to the combined service as the "Missouri Mule", although Amtrak timetables used the individual names.[2][3]

The Mules originally stopped at Kirkwood, Jefferson City, Sedalia and Warrensburg. Amtrak added Lee's Summit and Washington as flag stops in April 1981 on a one-year trial basis; Lee's Summit was retained in 1982 while Washington was dropped late 1981 in favor of Independence.[4][5] Amtrak reinstated Washington on the October 29, 1995, timetable for another one-year trial period; this time Amtrak retained the stop.[6] Hermann became a permanent stop on September 28, 1991. Trains had previously stopped only during Hermann's annual Maifest and Octoberfest.[7][8]

Between April 29, 1984, and November 4, 1993, the Mules operated with the River Cities, a Kansas City section of the City of New Orleans. Eastbound trains split from the St. Louis Mule and continued to Carbondale, Illinois to connect with the New Orleans-bound train. Westbound trains split from the northbound City of New Orleans at Carbondale and continued to St. Louis, where they joined the Kansas City Mule. A funding crisis caused Amtrak to discontinue the Mules between April 1 and July 1, 1995.[9]: 238 

Because the tracks were owned by Union Pacific (UP), which acquired MoPac in 1983, freight trains had priority over passenger trains. This often resulted in severe delays for Amtrak, such as those seen in May 2007, when the Missouri Department of Transportation blamed UP for the disruptions.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Amtrak (January 28, 2009). "AND THE WINNER IS … MISSOURI RIVER RUNNER" (PDF). Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  2. ↑ "'Missouri Mule' state's new train". Southeast Missourian. October 26, 1980. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
  3. ↑ Amtrak (February 1, 1981). "National Train Timetables". timetables.org. Museum of Railway Timetables. p. 38. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Amtrak to alter services". Nevada Daily Mail. February 25, 1981. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
  5. ↑ Amtrak (October 25, 1981). "Amtrak National Train Timetables". timetables.org. Museum of Railway Timetables. p. 38. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
  6. ↑ Amtrak (October 29, 1995). "Amtrak National Timetable". timetables.org. Museum of Railway Timetables. p. 26. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
  7. ↑ "At last, Hermann will get the trains to stop; Amtrak will begin the service Sept. 28. Arrivals will come from Kansas City, St. Louis". Kansas City Star. September 9, 1991. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
  8. ↑ Eardley, Linda (October 23, 1991). "SRO plagues Hermann; train seat shortage is a flaw that's been lurking on the railroad". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 3A.
  9. ↑ Sanders, Craig (2006). Amtrak in the Heartland. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-34705-3.
  10. ↑ kansascity.com [broken link]
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