The Overland Turnpike: William Strang and His Interurban Railroad
In 1906 a unique commuter railroad opened between Kansas City and Johnson County. The Strang Line, as it was commonly known, connected Johnson county residents to jobs and stores in Kansas City and offered city residents the opportunity for leisure in the country. The cities of Lenexa, Overland Park, and Olathe were station stops along the Strang Line which served the community through 1940. Named for its developer and the founder of Overland Park, the Strang Line carried many of Johnson County's first suburbanites to Kansas City on a route that paralleled the Santa Fe trail.
During a visit to Kansas City to see his mother in 1903, William B. Strang, Jr. proposed building a suburban community in rural Johnson County. Residents would travel to Kansas City on an electric interurban railroad. A visionary developer and entrepreneur, Strang built a railroad line that ran from the southwest part of Kansas City into northeast Johnson County. Strang's interurban line attracted home buyers to his new residential community of Overland park, which he developed just ten miles beyond the city limits. Recreational facilities and cultural activities in Overland Park offered city dwellers and Johnson County residents alike a chance to enjoy leisurely pursuits in a relaxed, country setting. The story of this interurban line and its surrounding neighborhoods serve as a prelude to the present character of the county.
Overland Park: the Garden Spot of the World
In 1903, when William Strang first announced his plan to develop a suburban community in northeast Johnson County, many Kansas City area residents and business owners were still recovering from the recent Kaw River flood. Strang’s proposal to build a flood-free railroad line from Kansas City to Johnson County must have seemed short of impossible. However, he recognized the rich rural lands that lay just beyond the downtown business district as the “inevitable path” of Kansas City’s future growth. A short-line electric interurban railroad would provide residents of his planned community easy access to the urban metropolis. The Strang Line was also developed to bring Kansas City residents and workers out of the dirty city to refresh their spirits in the clean, pure countryside.
The construction of a flood-free railroad was essential to Strang's plan and a familiar arena for an experienced developer. By the time William Strang was planning Overland Park, he was a seasoned railroad builder, who had worked alongside his father since the age of 15.
Between 1903 and 1905, Strang surveyed and subdivided his newly acquired land and secured easements to run his railroad line through properties he did not own. His energy and experience kept these activities moving at a steady pace. By early 1905 he had organized two projects: the Strang Land Company and the Missouri and Kansas Interurban Railway--better known as the Strang Line. He also contracted with the Metropolitan Street Railway Company in Kansas City to connect his interurban line with the existing trolley system in the Westport area. he then set about hiring experienced railroad men to manage the construction of the Strang Line.
Thomas Riley, a well-known short-line railroad developer who had worked with Strang on other railroad projects, was hired in 1905 to manage the new interurban line. He also served as vice president of the newly-organized Strang Land Company. Under Riley’s management, Strang built a truly flood-free railway without using a single bridge or other support structures to span the 10-mile stretch between State Line Road and Overland Park.
Motorized Cars Make Transportation History
The Construction of a flood-free railway was an impressive engineering accomplishment in an area surrounded by rivers notorious for flooding. Never satisfied with the ordinary, Strang introduced a unique type of interurban car to service his new electric line. In 1906, he commissioned a Philadelphia company to build gasoline-electric cars, instead of using electric trolley cable lines to power the railroad cars. These innovative cars were said to be free of the vibration experienced on the motorized cars used by the steam railroads. Strang named his first car Ogerita, after his niece, and the second Marguerite for his wife. Strang’s passenger cars were painted a bright red-orange color, known as vermillion, to distinguish them from other streetcars and railcars that transported people and freight throughout the Kansas City area.
Strang’s interurban cars were modern in every respect — from their motorized engines to their luxurious interiors featuring wicker furnishings. Brass fixtures, pull-down blinds, bathrooms, and non-smoking seating areas added to the passengers’ comfort.
The Most Beautiful Ride Out of Kansas City
The Strang Line officially opened on May 20, 1906, with a 28-minute run from Lenexa to Westport. Daily service from Lenexa began at 6:30 a.m. and made four round trips ending at 7:15 p.m. Riding in comfort on the Strang Line from Kansas City to Overland Park was — according to Strang’s advertisements — “the highest, coolest and most beautiful ride out of Kansas City.” The first commuters transferred from the Strang Line terminus at State Line Road to catch the Roanoke streetcar into downtown Kansas City. By late 1906, Olathe residents could catch the Strang Line along Park Street, just west of the downtown area. Three years later, in 1909, passengers on the Strang Line could travel to Kansas City’s commercial district at 7th and Walnut Streets without transferring to another line.
From Motorized Cars to Electric Trolleys
Partially in response to local residents’ complaints about the frequent delays in service, the Strang Line converted to an electric trolley system in 1908. Despite company claims that the railcars rarely needed servicing, newspaper accounts described several delays along the Strang Line for engine or brake repairs. Frequent engine stalls were reported on steep inclines near Overland park, most often at Morrison Ridge. Thomas Riley and his men often worked through the night to repair and service the interurban cars so that service was not interrupted. These problems, combined with the delays in receiving replacement parts from Philadelphia, convinced the company to replace the motorized cars. The switch to electric trolleys forced the company to close down during much of the year, while cable lines were constructed along the now 21-mile interurban line. The Marguerite was converted to a freight trolley and was used continuously until the line closed in 1940. Ogerita, the first Strang Line car, was sold to another railroad line in Minnesota. Two other motorized cars, the Geraldine and Irene (also named for Strang's nieces) were converted from gasoline-electric cars to electric passenger trolleys for the Kansas City to Olathe route.
A Home on the Overland Turnpike
Proximity to Kansas City and the high grade of the land attracted Strang to the Overland Park area, where in 1905 he began building his dream, a residential community of small farms and houses with convenient access to a major city. Strang's residential advertisements sought “the right sort” of home buyers, those who wanted to live in “God’s open, where there is no smoke, no smell, no noisy screeching motor cars....” Similar to the way it is promoted today, Overland Park was advertised as a place for families to live. Open space and independence were primary considerations in 1905, as well as the ability to “raise a few chickens, to grow flowers and vegetables, ... [and] keep your own cow.”
Strang used his novel interurban railroad to attract thousands of Kansas City area residents to Overland Park. A modern electric railroad brought them to a newly developing area where they could attend a variety of activities carefully orchestrated by Strang. Gala land auctions were held in 1906, 1910, and 1911, during which one free lot was always awarded. Along with its owner, employees of the Strang Line were some of Overland Park's earliest residents, drawn there by free land promised to every carman who built a home and lived in Overland Park. Line used open-air motorless trailers as passenger cars to supplement the regular service.
By 1907, Overland Park was becoming known as a growing, modern community. New businesses were opening in the business district. A large dance pavilion was completed near the new Overland Park station, where passengers waited for the next train in a well-lit, heated building. The pavilion was used year-round for social activities. Regular dances featuring Kansas City bands attracted large crowds from the metropolitan area. Strang continuously offered new attractions to bring people to Overland Park on the interurban line. After 1911, basketball brought enthusiasts of this new sport to Johnson County. Spectators and players all rode the Strang Line to the Grange Hall in Olathe to watch the local high school teams — boys and girls — compete against area teams.
The Boom and Bust Years: 1911-1940
By 1911, the Strang Line was primarily serving suburbanites who lived in subdivisions such as Overland Heights, Overland Hills, or Milburn Place. They rode the Strang Line to work or shop in Kansas City; and Kansas City residents traveled to Olathe to shop for groceries or to attend social events in Overland Park. As was expected, Strang's speculative development of Overland Park greatly increased the value of farm land located along the interurban line.
The Strang Line continued to prosper until 1916, as automobiles and trucks became the preferred methods of transportation and shipping. During the previous decade, Strang had concentrated most of his resources in the Strang Land Company, which kept him from improving and extending the interurban line. Strang’s untimely death in 1921 forced a reorganization of the interurban company.
Between 1916 and 1940, the Strang Line struggled to compete with an expanding trucking industry and the automobile. By 1925, a paved highway connected Olathe with Kansas City and steadily reduced passenger service on the Strang Line. The interurban company responded with a new type of service known as store-door delivery, which utilized motorized trucks (the industry with which the railroads were competing) to deliver goods shipped from Kansas City via the Strang Line to suburban stores. This service stabilized the company's revenues through the 1930s.
Despite their efforts to continue passenger service, the Strang Line could not compete with new highways and the prestige and convenience of commuting to the city in one’s own automobile. By November 1937, commuters could drive along two new concrete roadways — US 50 and K-10 — from Olathe to southeast Kansas City in half the time it took on the Strang Line. Earlier that year, Thomas Riley and a group of area businessmen pooled their resources to purchase the Strang Line. When the Strang Line made its final run on July 9, 1940, it was the sole survivor of numerous interurbans that once operated out of Kansas City. The record-long service was due in large part to Strang’s ability to promote and develop Overland Park as a residential community with a strong business district and as a tourist attraction. These qualities continue to attract new residents and businesses to Overland Park. As they travel along I-35 to Kansas City or within Johnson County, today’s commuters continue to follow much the same path William Strang brought to the area in 1906.
--ALBUM vol. 7, no. 3 (summer 1994)