Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad

Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad
Overview
Headquarters	Abilene, Kansas
Reporting mark	ASVR
Dates of operation	1993–
Predecessor	Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length	18 Miles

The Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad is a non-profit heritage railway located in Abilene, Kansas, United States. The A&SV was founded in 1993 to preserve the legacy of the railroad industry in Kansas and was designated as Kansas’ official heritage railroad in 2024 by an act of the state legislature. The A&SV is an experiential learning museum, where tourists ride on a train of vintage railcars while narrators tell the story of how railroads built Kansas’ agribusiness-oriented economy. Passengers are allowed to tour antique passenger cars and talk with staff members about their roles in making the trains operate.

The A&SV’s Flint Hills Express excursion train runs from April through September. Special trains run during the Halloween and Christmas seasons. The Smoky Valley Limited dinner train offers some of Kansas’ best home cooking, with trains running weekly during the summer and early fall. The Meadowlark Flyer is a special school charter for elementary schools in the region. Additionally, the railroad offers private charters for class reunions, family reunions, birthdays, anniversaries, company parties and other special events.

The railroad is home to two National Historic Register treasures: Abilene’s 1887 Rock Island Depot and a1919 ATSF 3415 4-6-2 Pacific steam engine. The depot is located in Old Abilene Town, south of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum. Santa Fe 3415 is the only operational steam locomotive in Kansas and was restored in the fall of 2008, making its first run May 23, 2009, after having sat as an inanimate park exhibit for nearly 40 years. In 2024, the Kansas Legislature designated ATSF 3415 as the state’s official steam locomotive.

The railroad also uses vintage diesel engines to power its trains. A 1945 Alco S-1 locomotive was donated to the A&SV in 1993, and a newly restored 1940 General Electric 44-ton center cab engine that was acquired in 1995 and only recently restored.

The Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad operates on rails that were initially laid by Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad in 1886. The 49-mile line, originally known as the Herington-Salina subdivision, was built to connect the Rock Island’s main line with the grain elevators and flour mills in Salina, Kansas. The A&SV operates on 5.5 miles (8.9 km) of track between Abilene and the neighboring Dickinson County community of Enterprise, where trains stop at a replica 1800s milling operation, the Hoffman Grist Mill. Using vintage milling equipment, the facility grinds locally grown grain into a variety of flour products, as well as corn meal and grits, that are packaged and sold in the mill’s gift shop. During the Enterprise layover, passengers are also allowed to explore the caboose and locomotive.

Tickets on all trains can be purchased at the railroad’s website, asvrr.org. Caboose and locomotive cab rides are available at an extra charge.